Sheffield Wednesday endured a turbulent deadline day that ended in defeat in their pursuit of Duncan McGuire.
The Owls had seen multiple bids for the Colorado City striker rejected, before missing out on the target to Blackburn Rovers. Though a statement by their rivals has now confirmed an admin error could send him back to the MLS.
Sheffield Wednesday did manage to snap up Ian Poveda and Kristian Pedersen in the final hours of the window, while they had already added James Beadle and Ike Ugbo to their ranks earlier in the month.
The Championship club also parted ways with Tyreeq Bakinson and George Byers on loan, while a number of other players were linked with the exit door but ended up staying at Hillsborough instead.
While Sheffield Wednesday did well to keep hold of some of their key players last month, there are a few stars that probably should have left to benefit themselves and the club.
Here are three players who should have left Hillsborough in January…
Lee Gregory
Lee Gregory is a pretty obvious choice and his exit seemed to make sense for the player, club and Derby County.
The ‘outstanding’ striker was heavily linked with the Rams after they failed to land Michael Smith, but Sheffield Wednesday ended up keeping hold of him beyond last week’s deadline.
Gregory has only featured for one minute of Championship football since October, while he hasn’t even been named in the squad for 17 of their last 18 matches.
The 35-year-old is behind Bailey Cadamarteri, Ike Ugbo, Mallik Wilks, Michael Smith and Ashley Fletcher in the pecking order, so it is a real shame he is now going to be without any action until the summer.
Reece James
Reece James looked set for a second chance following Danny Rohl’s arrival, however the 4-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town was his first appearance in the Championship since November.
Danny Rohl seems to prefer to play players out of position on the left-side of defence than starting James, while Pedersen’s arrival also provides more depth and pushes the 30-year-old out of the picture even further.
With only limited places left in Sheffield Wednesday’s squad, James’ exit could have allowed Rohl to bring in more additions or add register a player that wasn’t able to contribute in the first half of the term.
Ashley Fletcher
Ashley Fletcher is one of many loanees that Sheffield Wednesday have relied on in recent years, but he really hasn’t proven himself.
The forward has 24 appearances in all competitions and hasn’t scored a single goal, while he has only started one of the last 14 games in the second tier.
The Owls already have a long list of strikers in their squad and have mostly all endured difficult spells this term, but it seems like a waste to have five of them on the books.
With Lee Gregory staying, the club could have instead sent Fletcher back to Watford.