Sheffield Wednesday may have already been told who their ideal summer signing is.
Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl certainly have a lot of work to do during this summer’s transfer window.
And it looks like attacking signings might be the priority for Rohl and his recruitment team, following departures of the likes of Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo.
Rohl is keen for both players to return but there seems to be uncertainty for the pair this summer; Ugbo especially following parent club Troyes’ relegation to the French third tier.
Several names have so far been linked with a potential move to Hillsborough this summer including January targets Duncan McGuire and Mika Biereth.
McGuire though has recently spent time on the sidelines whilst Biereth looks to be out of Sheffield Wednesday’s price range.
But Brest winger Karamoko Dembele, who has also been linked with Sheffield Wednesday, could be a more realistic bet, and a very good fit too.
Neil Critchley a huge fan of Sheffield Wednesday target Karamoko Dembele
The Owls are reportedly keen on a loan deal for Dembele following his impressive loan spell with Blackpool during the 2023/24 campaign.
The former Celtic wonderkid picked up three Player of the Season awards after scoring eight goals and assisting 13 more in League One last season, notching 25 goal contributions in all competitions.
Speaking about Dembele’s impact and style of play during the 2023/24 campaign, Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said: “He’s a brilliant footballer.
“I love watching him play. He’s exciting, he’s something different in this league.
“He’s really courageous, he takes the ball into any area of the pitch and backs himself- he’s got real bravery. He’s a lovely boy and is great to work with.”
Karamoko Dembele sounds a lot like one former Sheffield Wednesday player
Dembele’s highlights and Critchley’s comments certainly show us what he’s all about; pace and trickery, beating opponents with the ball, and most importantly, scoring and creating goals.
And that makes him sound a lot like Poveda; though Dembele was able to find the back of the net more often than Poveda was at Sheffield Wednesday.
There’s no doubting that Poveda shone on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and that bringing him back would be good business for the Owls.
But there remains huge question marks over his fitness. Poveda only managed 10 Championship appearances for the Owls with injury ruling him out of the final five games of the season.
The 21-year-old Dembele however featured 39 times in League One last season. What’s more is that he may be made available for another loan with parent club Brest set to play in the Champions League next season.
Game-time could be very limited for Dembele whereas it would be readily-available in S6, especially if Poveda doesn’t eventually return.
Premier League clubs also fancy Dembele, but that may present more game-time issues, so there’s reason to believe a summer loan to Sheffield Wednesday is realistic, and reason to believe that it would be a quality signing for Rohl.