Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday transfer flurry moving forward - stance on linked pair
Sheffield Wednesday are heading into a very busy summer of transfer activity.
The transfer operation at Sheffield Wednesday is the subject of daily meetings behind the scenes as club figures look to press on with a vast squad rebuild following the addition of Ricardo Santos, The Star understands.
The Owls saw their numbers all-but decimated of proven EFL quality in the last two transfer windows as financial pressures took hold. Under new ownership, the pledge has been made to put together a squad built for the challenges of League One, with a keen eye on putting together a more sustainable transfer strategy and achieving a balance of youth and experience.
Simon Wilson’s official arrival as sporting director appears to have greased the wheels on activity behind the scenes as Wednesday look to complete on their targets. The transfer window opened on June 15 and Santos’ signing will be able to be ratified once the formalities of paying creditors is complete. The man mountain defender will report for pre-season testing at Middlewood Road alongside his new teammates on Wednesday - it is believed to be quite possible other new faces are there to join him.
Two players that won’t be there, The Star understands, are Owen Bailey and Callum Paterson. It is believed that Doncaster Rovers skipper Bailey was an active Owls target earlier in the summer but that his signing is not one being actively worked on as things stand with other targets being pursued. The Star is told former Owls figure Paterson - fresh off promotion with MK Dons - is not a live target.
Speaking to BBC Sheffield, Owls chairman David Storch said: “We’re signing players pretty much every day now. This is important, the other day when we were taking a look at the squad and its composition, we were meeting with Henrik and we were talking about the first day of training being June 29. That’s only 10 days away and at the moment we’ve only got six players under contract.
“I think they might need more than a three versus three scrimmage. So obviously we need some more players and we need them fairly quickly, but we’re not going to rush. Everything I’ve done has been done over time. We’re trying to build greatness over time, we’re trying to instil excellence right from the start.
“But there’s a road in front of us and we’re travelling that road today. Yes, we need to fill out the squad and Simon, under David’s (Bruce, CEO) leadership is doing a really great job.”