Why Sheffield Wednesday-linked Harlee Dean was left out of 22-man friendly squad as transfer talk cools

The 30-year-old, who has been linked with a return to Wednesday this summer having been adamant he would be allowed to leave the Midlands club on a free earlier this year, is suffering from a minor calf issue and so was not named in the Blues’ 22-man squad that beat Burton Albion over the weekend.

Dean has fallen out of favour under previous manager Lee Bowyer and exchanged a public back-and-forth over his attitude and application in the days after his signing at Hillsborough.

He played nine times for the Owls in the second half of last season and impressed despite having had his short loan stint interrupted by injury niggles.

Wednesday were said to be keeping a close eye on Dean’s situation this summer, which has taken several twists and turns since the end of last season.

Bowyer has since been sacked and John Eustace has returned to reinstate the former Blues skipper into the pre-season fold.

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Dean’s performance against Portuguese side Portimonense last week was described as ‘muscular and defensively assertive’ among other things by media present and notes on his appetite in training have been reported.

Darren Moore has already added three central defenders to his squad in Ben Heneghan, Michael Ihiekwe and Akin Famewo, while Reece James was fleetingly used their in one of their pre-season matches on their own Portugal trip.

While it is understood Wednesday were keeping abreast of his situation and were ready to swoop should a free transfer opportunity arise, it is becoming less and less likely the Owls would extend to somewhere close to Dean’s reported £20,000 a week wages given the work already done to strengthen the defensive areas.

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Providing an update to media over in Portugal, Moore made clear he felt the bulk of his transfer work was done this summer, with seven already in the door and only a handful of incomings likely to be made in the coming weeks.

Wednesday remain keen on doing a deal for Hull City attacker Mallik Wilks, while Bristol City midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson has emerged as a potential target.