Danny Rohl has made it his priority to solve one key problem at Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday had enjoyed some excellent form prior to the January transfer window, and as they closed in on safety, they knew a few signings could be the key to preventing relegation.
The Owls were linked with a number of players and eventually missed out on their first choice target Duncan McGuire, but went onto land Ian Poveda, Kristian Pedersen, Ike Ugbo and James Beadle instead.
While Pedersen lasted two games before picking up an injury, the other three have made a real positive impact and it has so far proven to be a successful bit of transfer business.
Despite that, Danny Rohl has admitted he would have liked to have brought in more players, and has also explained what his ‘plan’ is outside of the transfer window.
Speaking to Kicker, the German coach said: “We’d have liked to have signed one or two more players. In addition to the new players, we were able to significantly develop the team and each individual.
“Targeted youth development is part of the plan because we have the second-oldest team in the league.”
Is what Danny Rohl is doing working?
Sheffield Wednesday do have the second oldest squad in the Championship – behind only West Brom – with an average age of 27.1.
However, the Owls haven’t named one of the oldest starting line-ups since before Danny Rohl’s arrival, with Xisco Munoz naming the fourth oldest line-up (29.6) against Ipswich Town in September.
The Yorkshire outfit had already signed the likes of Djeidi Gassama, Anthony Musaba and Di’Shon Bernard in the summer to bring that age bracket down, while their January signings also have an average age of 24 years old.
Danny Rohl doesn’t need to explain that he is eager to develop youth players, as it is already pretty clear. While he relies on the likes of Barry Bannan and Marvin Johnson for leadership and experience, he has also put so much trust into the younger players and they are now massively contributing to the senior team’s success.
Sheffield Wednesday’s finances won’t allow them to spend big on these quality players elsewhere in the Championship, but it is so far proving effective to instead focus on growing their youth and helping bring the self confidence back for players such as Ian Poveda, who has struggled at Leeds United.