Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl wants the club to be active in January. But whether that means potential permanent signings remains to be seen.
Nobody expected Sheffield Wednesday to spend much at all last summer, let alone £2.5million on one player in Ike Ugbo.
In the end, Sheffield Wednesday’s summer spending exceeded £3million, with Olaf Kobacki and Yan Valery also costing the Owls money.
Ahead of January, Danny Rohl has reiterated that Sheffield Wednesday will focus on the loan market, with one or two signings wanted to add that extra but of quality.
But potential permanent signings can’t be ruled out entirely. Albeit, it does feel more unlikely than likely, especially with Sheffield Wednesday having recently been under embargo.
Should owner Dejphon Chansiri have some money to spend, and choose to spend it in January, then the club could do a lot worse than to reignite their interest in a previous transfer target, who’s out of contract in 2025.
Former Sheffield Wednesday transfer target Paudie O’Connor shining in 2024/25
In the summer of 2022, the Owls were linked with Lincoln City centre-back Paudie O’Connor.
Of course, he never moved to Hillsborough, and nor did he leave the LNER Stadium. He’s been with the Imps since and he’s once again enjoying a strong season in the third.
So strong in fact that Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Simeon Gholam has named O’Connor in his League One Team of the Season.
Interestingly, O’Connor sees his Lincoln City contract expire at the end of this season, and there’s no news of a potential extension on the cards.
Potentially eager to not lose their star man for nothing next summer, a January sale could easily be on the cards, and it could come at a decent price for whoever wants to sign the 27-year-old.
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The Championship teams wanting to sign Paudie O’Connor from Lincoln City
O’Connor has had Championship links on and off for some time now. But towards the end of the last summer transfer window, there was growing interest in the former Bradford City man.
Reports at the time claimed that Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, and Oxford United were all keen on the Imps skipper.
Sheffield Wednesday haven’t been mentioned alongside O’Connor in some time now. And with a different recruitment and management team now at the helm, O’Connor might not be someone on the Owls’ radar.
But having shone in a passing-heavy Lincoln City side, and likely available on a cut-price deal in January should Lincoln City not want to lose him for nothing, he could be a shrewd January signing for many in the Championship, Wednesday included given their lack of centre-backs.