Owen Otasowie: Who is the USMNT international and former West Ham and Wolves man linked with Sheffield Wednesday?

The link has come some way out of the blue – from Sky Sports – and his is a name not hugely familiar to Wednesday fans.

But who is Owen Otasowie, what’s Darren Moore said and how could he fit in at S6? Let’s take a look..

Hang on, who?

A one-cap USA international, Otasowie signed for Belgian side Club Brugge in the summer for a fee believed to be somewhere in the region of €4m – roughly £3.3m – in the summer.

The New York native made 34 combined appearances between Wolves’ Under-23 and Under-18 teams before earning more chances with the first team. Otasowie totalled seven appearances under then-manager Nuno Espírito Santo, featuring in the UEFA Europa League and the Premier League.

He’d previously been in the youth set-up at West Ham United.

Capable of playing in defence of midfield, Otasowie is a highly-rated young player.

What sort of deal would it be? Who else is interested?

Reports are suggesting the youngster would become another addition to Wednesday’s loan army, with a mooted deal likely to run to the end of the season.

The club currently have eight on the books – only five are permitted in a matchday squad – though that situation could change quickly if one or both of Lewis Gibson or Olamide Shodipo are sent back to their parent clubs.

The reports suggest Wednesday’s South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley are also sweet on bringing him back to England. It’s worth noting Barnsley’s American ownership.

What’s the view of someone who has seen him before?

Dave Azzopardi, a football writer and Football Manager researcher for Wolves, has followed Otasowie’s career closely.

He told The Star: “He was moved on by Wolves because he didn't get on too well with the backroom staff. He played as a centre back and a central midfielder for Wolves under-23s but mainly as a central midfielder for the first team.

“He’s really strong and powerful driving forward on the ball, there’s definitely talent there, it's just up to him to put his mind to it and improve. It’s been a surprise he's not played more for Brugge this season.”

Speaking to The Athletic last year, Wolves academy boss Scott Sellars compared his skill set to that of Belgian international Leander Dendoncker.

“He’s versatile,” he said. “His physicality is his biggest strength. He’s really good at protecting the ball and at one-v-ones, with and without the ball.

“A lot of his development has been done in cages in London and you can see that with him. He’s got a lot going for him.”

What has Darren Moore said?

Much of the focus throughout Wednesday’s window has been on bringing in defenders and they’ve done that with the additions of Harlee Dean and Jordan Storey.

Dennis Adeniran’s season-ending injury brought the midfield area in focus, however, on Saturday, Moore told The Star: “It all depends. It might be in midfield if we need an extra one, we might have to adjust it for someone else. We’ll just have to wait and see how it is and go from there, really.

“We’re in this couple of days where you might need to look at the balance of the squad and make one more final addition somewhere.”

Anything else?

Also eligible to represent Nigeria or England, Otasowie’s full international debut came in November 2020 when he came on for USA in the final minutes of a 0-0 draw with Wales.

Remarkably, he didn’t start playing football until he was in his early teens.

He’s also a part-time model and has Burberry in his portfolio.