What Sheffield Wednesday supporters need to brace themselves for this transfer window

This one might be a little bit different.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

And it may well be that Sheffield Wednesday fans feel a little pinch in the new shoes of League One this summer.

With a raft of first team players out of contract in the coming weeks, the club look set to continue their transition away from the sort of spending that they were associated with in the early days of Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A combined hit of both the global coronavirus crisis, which Chansiri himself has admitted has hit his business interests, and the estimated £8m hit suffered by clubs relegated to League One, it looks certain that transition may shift further towards the free agency and loans market than even the last couple of pre-season transfer windows.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore.Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore.

Only midfielder Massimo Luongo and forward pair Josh Windass and Callum Paterson have been signed for fees in that time.

Manager Darren Moore has developed a strong reputation for astute business and Wednesday fans hoping that a raft of established, big-name players are targeted by the club may be disappointed.

It looks likely those supporters may instead find the club linked with more modestly paid players from the lower leagues, as had already been the case with the likes of Charlton Athletic forward Chuks Aneke, Morcambe attacker Carlos Mendes Gomes and Cheltenham Town defender Will Boyle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It would follow the example of other so-called ‘big clubs’ to have been relegated to the third tier in recent seasons, including Sunderland, whose business heading into League One in 2018 included signings from Wycombe, Bradford, Bury and Burton Albion. A year later, Ipswich brought players in from Tranmere, Gillingham and Lincoln.

Where Wednesday’s loan dealings in recent seasons has seen the club bring in more established talent including Premier League names Connor Wickham, Jacob Murphy and Izzy Brown, Moore’s success at Doncaster Rovers was in many ways hung on clever loan moves for younger, hungrier names.

The likes of Brighton’s Taylor Richards and Arsenal pair Ben Sheaf and Tyreece John-Jules joined him at the Keepmoat in recent seasons and proved that in League One, that type of deal can be hugely beneficial to all parties.

Fire up the Wikipedia searches, it may well be that Wednesday’s business is aimed towards a few lesser-known markets in the coming weeks.

MORE FROM OUR WEDNESDAY WRITING TEAM

*

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports.

Your support is much appreciated.

Chris Holt, Football Editor