Shocking list shows transfer policy Sheffield Wednesday must improve on under Darren Moore

There’s likely to be a lot of activity in Sheffield Wednesday’s recruitment department this summer.
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With a large percentage of the club’s first team currently set to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of their Owls contracts, Wednesday look set to undertake a squad transition not seen at the club for some time.

And with finances tight regardless of their divisional status, it could well be that the club look once again to exploit the loan and free agent market for solutions.

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In their last three seasons only Massimo Luongo, Josh Windass and Callum Paterson have been signed on significant fees and like most Championship clubs the loan market is one the Owls are well versed in searching.

Derby loanee Jack Marriott is one of a number of disastrous loan spells by Sheffield Wednesday in recent windows.Derby loanee Jack Marriott is one of a number of disastrous loan spells by Sheffield Wednesday in recent windows.
Derby loanee Jack Marriott is one of a number of disastrous loan spells by Sheffield Wednesday in recent windows.

But there have been more misses than hits in recent times. This season saw experience arrive in the form of Derby County forward Jack Marriott and Cardiff City centre-half Aden Flint.

Flint looked the part inside only four matches for Wednesday before he was sent back to Wales with a hamstring problem and Marriott’s stint in South Yorkshire has been similarly punctured by injury, making only four starts. As revealed by The Star last week, further injury sees him unlikely to play for the Owls again.

Of the loan signings made in the previous transfer window only Josh Windass, who would eventually sign on a permanent deal, could reasonably be described as a success alongside Connor Wickham and Alessio Da Cruz, strikers who scored only twice in 27 appearances between them.

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And previously though Newcastle-owned Josh Murphy proved to be a slow-burning success at Hillsborough, it seems the club’s more recent loan policy has been to attract out-of-favour, more experienced names, while others concentrate on attracting lesser-known younger players from Premier League clubs.

Their new boss Darren Moore, recovering from the after-effects of his coronavirus diagnosis, was a keen exponent of the younger end of the top tier loan market and in his relatively young management career has developed a reputation as a safe pair of hands when it comes to handling talented prospects.

He may well be looking to uncover more signings similar to his successful Doncaster additions of Ben Sheaf and Tyreece John-Jules, both from Arsenal, Brighton’s Taylor Richards, Manchester City’s Matt Smith and Wolves’ Cameron John.

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