Sheffield Wednesday failed to sign a striker on deadline day last week, with Danny Rohl now facing a difficult second half of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday were in store for a tricky end to the season as it was. But failing to sign a new no.9 on deadline day looks like it’s left the Owls with a mountain to climb; even more so after their calamitous defeat vs Huddersfield Town last weekend.
But there’s still hope for Rohl in the free agent market. Sheffield Wednesday would’ve wanted a player like Duncan McGuire, but they may now be forced to settle for a makeshift striker until the summer, and here are three potentially shrewd options for the Owls on the free agent list..
Sheffield Wednesday in for Dwight Gayle
The first option is one who’s already been linked with a move to Hillsborough; former Newcastle United man Gayle recently became a free agent after seeing his deal at Stoke City cut short, with Sheffield Wednesday among the teams initially linked.
Gayle has 106 career goals to his name with 62 of those having come in the Championship, but only three came during a one-and-a-half-year stay at Stoke City.
Still, the 34-year-old is a proven Championship striker, with his 24-goal haul with West Brom during the 2018/19 campaign being a memorable one.
Lucas Joao
Former Sheffield Wednesday striker Lucas Joao became a free agent after New Year when his contract with Shanghai Port was terminated.
Still only 30 years old, Joao was a cult hero during his time with the Owls, scoring 29 in 127 total appearances for the club, before joining Reading and then going on to score 45 in 119 games, including 19 Championship goals in the 2020/21 campaign.
Joao is a bustling forward who could really compliment this aggressive style of play under Rohl, and he’s a natural finisher too.
Lewis Grabban
Another experienced EFL hotshot on the free agent’s list right now is former Nottingham Forest man Lewis Grabban.
Now 36, Grabban was most recently in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli but that stint was short-lived, after it emerged that the Saudi team had not properly compensated Grabban.
He’s been a free agent for several months then, but he remains a prolific striker at Championship level; in 284 second tier appearances, Grabban has 112 goals, with 20 in the 2019/20 campaign and then 12 during Forest’s promotion-winning 2021/22 season.
Sheffield Wednesday return to action vs Coventry City in an FA Cup fourth round replay tonight.