Sheffield Wednesday to secure deals for THREE players as Garry Monk moulds squad

Connor Wickham, Jacob Murphy and Alessio Da Cruz all played starring roles in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Crystal Palace loanee Wickham heading a fine 93rd-minute equaliser in front of a barren Kop End.

Concerns have been raised over the future look of Monk’s squad. As it stands only 14 senior outfield players – including teenagers Alex Hunt and Osaze Urhoghide – are contracted to complete the season that will see the Owls play eight games in 24 days.

Asked after the match whether there had been movement on the extensions of Wednesday’s loan players, Monk said: “That should be all done by Monday I believe.

“All those players are keen to do it, their parent clubs have allowed it.

“They’re going to contribute, they’ve come back in really good condition, all of them. They are some of the fittest players in the squad, the loan players and a big emphasis in this period is going to be fitness.

“You can see that from the players who played today and I think we dealt with that really well.”

One player whose future is more uncertain is Wigan-owned midfielder-cum-forward Josh Windass, who was injured in training and faces a spell on the sidelines.

Monk said in a press conference last week that his situation would be monitored before a decision is made.

“As I said with Josh, we’re having to see where we’re at with the injury. It’s a shame, Josh came back in an unbelievable condition and would have been a big asset for us.”

Wickham’s winner – from Da Cruz’s excellent corner – stole the headlines and after the match spoke about his struggle for fitness over the last couple of years.

Monk said: “He’s come back fit, sharper than before. You’ve got to understand with Connor, when he came in before he hadn’t been playing games or getting many minutes.

“He was a lot sharper and you can see that in the way he’s been in training the last few weeks and he deserved his goal. It was an excellent performance.”

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