Sheffield Wednesday 'very restricted' but are working towards clear transfer priority
Sheffield Wednesday have work to do in the transfer market.
Nothing is imminent on the transfer front at Sheffield Wednesday after the club announced the addition of Tyler Onyango - though club figures are said to be optimistic on their efforts to fill key positions despite recruitment restrictions.
The club confirmed via statement late last month that they were operating under the terms of EFL restrictions, with The Star of the understanding they are close to their agreed spend limit when it comes to transfer and loan fees. Wednesday’s recruitment parameters were agreed with the EFL as part of their exit from administration and will carry for two seasons.
A swathe of players have arrived at S6 as part of a busy squad rebuild, with Onyango serving as their 13th new face of the window. Owls boss Henrik Pedersen suggested the gangly midfielder would serve initially as a back-up player and that he is one for development in the coming months.
The likes of Mason Burstow and Louie Barry have arrived to bolster an attacking unit decimated by the club’s struggles in recent years but further work is required to add goals to a squad hopeful of challenging in the upper regions of League One this time out. Among the positions sought at least two more forwards are desired, along with at least one right winger.
“Of course it's crucial that we get more offensive players,” Pedersen said ahead of this weekend’s Carabao Cup clash with Bolton Wanderers. “Of course it is. Because now we have too few. But we are all totally aligned for this. Simon, when I come to him in the morning, he says exactly the same as I think. And David Storch says exactly the same.
“We are all totally aligned for this. And we are also all aligned that we want to do it when we can do it. But we need the right feeling and the right knowledge before we take the step with the limitations we have.”
In spite of their proximity to the up-front spend limit, there are ways Wednesday can structure loan deals in particular to ensure they can succeed in negotiations with other clubs. Their wage offering is competitive, The Star understands. Work is ongoing to line-up targets in a window that has just begun to kick into gear across the country.
“We are very restricted,” Pedersen said. “We know don't have much money to spend. But with the quality we have in Simon and Kevin and the coaches and also from David and David, then I am sure we can still have a really, really strong window.
“As manager, you will always have the players in tomorrow! But I have so much trust in what we are doing that we still have three loans. Maybe we will use a loan now in a short time - and then we will wait with two loans to the last ten days of the window.
“And then we are searching now to see in which position can we get the right profile in now. So the last four or five days you can feel that the market really starts. It has been very slow. There are players who want to go to the Championship and maybe they don't get the Championship? Then I know we have a very, very attractive address in League One. So yes, it is about being patient. But of course I want to hurry up. But Simon also wants to hurry up.”