Last League One stint gives Sheffield Wednesday food for thought ahead of summer transfer window
Sheffield Wednesday want to change their business model when it comes to recruitment under Arise Capital Partners - but the value of experience should never be underestimated.
With Sheffield Wednesday’s entire squad in need of being rebuilt this summer, it is impossible to identify an appropriate starting point to get the rebuild underway.
Following a disastrous summer last year, Wednesday’s first-team squad was left threadbare, bereft of any real quality. They were destined for relegation before the season had even started.
Manager Henrik Pedersen was able to strengthen his squad in patches at a cluster of different junctures during the season via the free agent and loan markets, but it was not enough to raise the overall quality of the squad.
But with the takeover now complete and the threat of a 15-point deduction ahead of the start of next season quashed, everyone associated with the club is looking forward to the 2026/27 campaign with hope and optimism.
But with just over two weeks to go until the summer transfer window officially opens, nobody associated with Wednesday has the faintest idea of what the squad will look like come the start of the new League One campaign. The Owls need fresh blood all over the pitch, meaning it is not unrealistic to suggest they could need somewhere between 15-20 new signings this summer.
The specifics of the recruitment restrictions Wednesday will be operating under are not yet known, but there is set to be a reasonable amount of freedom to bring in new faces.
Various departments of the squad are wafer-thin, highlighting the importance of getting bodies in as early as possible. The midfield department, for example, currently only consists of Svante Ingelsson, and there is no guarantee he will stay at the club amid interest from elsewhere.
At first glance, on paper at least, Wednesday’s attacking department is reasonably well-stocked. Charlie McNeill, Jamal Lowe, Iké Ugbo, George Brown and Will Grainger are all capable of playing up front.
However, there is an obvious need for Wednesday to inject a freshness into that area of the team. Ugbo barely featured in the second half of this season, plunging his S6 future into serious doubt, while McNeill has looked more comfortable as a No.10. Lowe and Grainger, many will argue, are also better suited to slightly deeper.
Jerry Yates, who arrived on loan from Luton Town in January, was Wednesday’s chief striker in the second half of this season, contributing four goals. His performances banked him a fair share of credit, and Wednesday have not dismissed the prospect of trying to bring him back to Hillsborough for a second time.
The importance of strengthening the forward line, as obvious as it sounds, is imperative for Wednesday this summer. They need strikers they can rely on to deliver the goods in front of goal, and ideally ones who have proven records in League One.
After falling short of promotion from the third tier in 2021/22, Wednesday recruited Michael Smith from Rotherham United ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, and he played a starring role in helping them climb back into the Championship at the second attempt, scoring 17 League One goals.
He brought a proven record in the third tier to Hillsborough, previously scoring 61 goals in League One and the League One play-offs combined. He joined an attacking department that already featured Lee Gregory, whose three previous League One campaigns, including the 2021/22 season at Hillsborough, had yielded 54 goals.
Although Wednesday want to alter their business model under Arise Capital Partners to become a club that develops a reputation for developing young talent in the hope of moving them on for big money, the value of experience, particularly when it comes to strikers, cannot be underestimated.
Wednesday’s last stint in League One highlights that, with the addition of Smith in June 2022 an important piece in the jigsaw. Alongside Gregory, who scored 28 goals in his two League One campaigns in Wednesday colours, the duo crashed in a combined total of 33 goals in the promotion-winning 2022/23 campaign in all competitions.
It goes without saying that no signing, regardless of the price and the level of the game, is guaranteed to work out in the way all parties hope it will. Ugbo’s permanent switch to S6 in August 2024 is a prime example of that. Managerial appointments, too, are often a gamble.
However, those gambles feel slightly safer when recruiting a player who has a proven track record of delivering the goods at the level you are going to be playing at. Smith and Gregory both fitted that particular criteria.
Wednesday have a mountain of work to get through this summer, meaning nothing, at this stage, can be considered as a leading transfer objective above any other.
However, the Owls’ last League One stint should offer food for thought when the time comes to try and sharpen the team at the top end of the pitch.