Sheffield Wednesday transfer window state of play: Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, new defenders and Premier League youngsters

It’s not expected that the Owls will have a particular busy window this time around, with Darren Moore set to make tweaks to his side rather than worrying about big changes to a side that are currently 10 games unbeaten in League One.

Plenty of people will have their ideas on what Wednesday should or shouldn’t do in January, but this window could be one where the amount of change happening is taken out of their own hands.

We take a look at what could play out over the next month or so, and in what position Moore’s side will be in when it’s over.

Outgoings

You might think we’d start with potential new signings for the Owls, but the reality is that the business of January this year is likely to come down to what happens with players who are already on the books at Hillsborough.

There’s been interest in Callum Paterson from Hearts in Scotland, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s future is very much up in the air as the club face a situation where they may have to sell or lose him for free, and they have three loan players with whom there are no guarantees going into the second half of the season.

If all of the above stick around then Wednesday’s window should be very quiet indeed – but, as Moore says, 24 hours in a long time in football.

Mark McGuinness has been excellent, and his Cardiff City side have just been placed under embargo, Nottingham Forest may not be ecstatic about the amount of time Alex Mighten is getting on the field, and Blackpool have already stated that if it’s right to have Reece James back ‘down the line’ then they’ll do something about it.

On top of that there are youngsters such as David Agbontohoma who could do with some time playing regular football – so the outgoings side of things could be pretty busy.

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Incomings

If nobody leaves, then there isn’t really too much of a need for many to come in at S6… Moore and his recruitment team are always looking to strengthen their team whenever possible, but as they get players like George Byers, Dennis Adeniran and Akin Famewo back available again there is a hint of the old ‘as good as new signings’ cliché.

At least one centre back – with Ben Heneghan our for the season and Michael Ihiekwe sidelined for a couple of months – is high up on many lists, while the lack of goals in recent weeks has led to a call for new attacking options.

A couple of young Premier League starlets, Everton’s Tom Cannon and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi of Crystal Palace, have already been linked with Hillsborough switches, and the idea of a young buck with a bit of pace and X-factor would make sense for the Owls as they seek that extra bit of difference in games where they’re struggling to unlock things.

The centre back conundrum

It’s a bit of a tough call on the defenders… When asked previously whether he wishes he’d signed more of them in the summer, the Owls manager said with a smile, “I’ve got five of them!” before adding that he had others who could stand in, too.

That was after Heneghan had been ruled out for the season, though, and since then they’ve lost Ihiekwe to injury and been forced the reshuffle the pack on a number of different occasions.

At present they have only Mark McGuiness, Dominic Iorfa and the returning Akin Famewo available in terms of natural central defenders, however James has played well there for some time now, and appears to be seen as more of a LCB than a left back.

Heneghan’s out of the picture, unfortunately, so the idea of bringing on board a big, bustling centre back to stick his head on everything has credence, and depending on Ihiekwe’s situation maybe there’s an argument for two.

That being said, with McGuinness, Iorfa, Famewo, James and Liam Palmer all capable of playing those central roles, Moore may be wary of filling up his side too much. If ‘Icky’ is out relatively quickly in 2023 then you can add another name to that list – so there’s plenty to think about for the Wednesday boss.

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What to do about the two…

Moore will be keen to keep his squad together, he’s said that before, but he’s also noted that ‘everyone has a price’.

With Paterson and Dele-Bashiru, Wednesday have got decisions to make – look to sell them now, or lose them for free at the end of the season if new contracts aren’t put in place.

In terms of ‘Pato’ the difficulty is that his ability to play in so many different positions makes him a real asset to the squad, and it’s unlikely that you’d be able to replace him with whatever money you are able to recoup now.

Dele-Bashiru’s situation is a complex one, too. All the power is now in the player’s hands as he enters into the last six months of his deal, and it’s no surprise that a player with his attributes and potential is attracting interest.

His age means that there is significant chance for genuine income in the future if they do manage to tie him down, and it may be that the club think the extra six months and chance of a promotion may strengthen their hand going forward. But that’s a risk.

Both, as well as a host of others, can actually agree precontracts as of next Sunday – and there’s a very real chance that things could be taken out of Wednesday’s hands.

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