Exclusive:Leicester City and Derby County among clubs interested in Sheffield Wednesday defender
Sheffield Wednesday are busy laying the foundations for a vast summer rebuild of its squad.
Sheffield Wednesday face competition in their hope of retaining one of their key figures heading into a rebuild campaign at Hillsborough, The Star understands.
The Owls are standing at the starting line of a busy summer in which its new US owners will attempt huge changes to the club; both off the field and on it. Wednesday’s squad was decimated by a double round of departures of important players across the last two transfer windows thanks to the financial position it was left to battle.
That leaves a heavy duty rebuild to the squad heading into League One next season, with manager Henrik Pedersen having described the preparatory work already undertaken by himself, head of recruitment Kevin Beadell and his backroom staff as the club approaches the important appointment of a new sporting director.
One of the calls believed to have been made is a desire to retain senior pair Max Lowe and Svante Ingelsson, with conversations to be had over fresh deals for the new pair. Both are out of contract in the coming weeks and though the club hold a year’s extension clause over the terms of player of the year Ingelsson, the desire is there to tie him down amid continued interest from a number of Championship clubs including Stoke City. The Star reported interest from the Potters in both the Swede and Lowe last week.
As an experienced left-footed, ball-playing defender, Lowe is of a widely sought-after profile. The Star is of the understanding that further interest remains in Lowe, with Wednesday’s fellow League One side Leicester City having made their interest known ahead of his future being decided. In the Championship, Middlesbrough are believed to have raised an interest should their play-off campaign not prove successful, while Lowe’s first club Derby County are also understood to be interested in bringing him back to Pride Park.
Lowe, who turned 29 today, is believed to be receptive to the idea of staying at Hillsborough despite the club’s relegation to the third tier. A number of Owls players are approaching the end of their deals. Wednesday will be operating to a business plan following their exit out of administration, which was reflected on the EFL website last week. Players staying on retained contracts will be subject to a wage drop of between 40 and 50 per cent.