Sheffield Wednesday are likely to really regret not signing one of their attacking targets.
The Owls were clearly desperate to bolster their frontline this summer, having racked up the second-lowest goal tally in the Championship last season.
Sheffield Wednesday went onto sign Jamal Lowe, Ike Ugbo, Olaf Kobacki and Charlie McNeill, though they were three of many players on a long list of target in recent months.
The Yorkshire outfit were linked with a number of other exciting signings that never materialised, and eventually they settled on their four new additions.
One player they might now regret not signing is Karamoko Dembele, who was reportedly ‘offered’ to them by Brest.
Reports then claimed that Wednesday actually made a bid to sign the winger, who bagged eight goals and 13 assists for Blackpool last term.
The Owls failed to sign Dembele though and he was snapped up by QPR.
The 21-year-old is now making waves in the Championship, having picked up two assists in three games.
Sheffield Wednesday target is now shining for rivals
According to WhoScored, Dembele is also the highest-rated current player in the second division (7.68).
The only higher rated player is Jack Clarke (8.31), but he is no longer in the league after joining Ipswich Town.
Dembele beats the likes of West Brom’s Josh Maja and Millwall’s Duncan Watmore, who have scored eight goals between them.
Dembele has also completed the third-most key passes in the Championship (12), compared to Wednesday’s highest – Barry Bannan (7).
The attacker has received his plaudits since joining QPR and he has made a real positive impact on their team, despite only picking up one win so far.
The Owls made a mistake in not signing Karamoko Dembele
The Owls will be very happy with Lowe’s arrival at Hillsborough, but there is no denying that Dembele could have added such a threat to their attack.
Kobacki hasn’t made the step up yet, while Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama are yet to find their end product that will turn their potential into talent.
Danny Rohl is still waiting for his players to become Championship ready and that is not what he needs right now. He needs players like Dembele, who can be thrown into the division for the first time and really light it up.
While Dembele was born in London, he has lived in the north or France since he was ten years old, so there is no real reason why QPR should have had such an advantage in their pursuit to sign him.
Wednesday made a mistake in not pushing for a move in hindsight, but there’s not a lot they can do about it now.