Sheffield Wednesday endured a long and arduous January transfer window. But on the whole, the Owls should be pleased with what they achieved.
In total, four players arrived at Hillsborough during the January transfer window, with Sheffield Wednesday leaving half of their business till the last minute.
Danny Rohl‘s side managed to sign four on loan; James Beadle and Ike Ugbo at the start of the window, and Ian Poveda and Kristian Pedersen on deadline day.
A striker was the main priority and Wednesday tried hard to sign Duncan McGuire, though after a turbulent 48 hours he eventually signed for Blackburn Rovers.
With the winter transfer window now over and focus on he remainder of the 2023/24 season, let’s take a look at Sheffield Wednesday’s overall showing in the transfer market…
Sheffield Wednesday forced to settle for loan deals
The Owls were, rather expectedly, limited to loan signings last month. There’s no option to buy either Beadle of Ugbo and no reports of an option or obligation for Pedersen or Poveda; though with the latter two it seems like a future permanent signing could be possible with Pedersen out of favour at Swansea and Poveda out of contract in the summer.
But it seems like owner Dejphon Chansiri was ready to spend some last-minute cash with Wednesday having bid for McGuire. That could mean that Sheffield Wednesday have some money to spend in the summer months, with a new striker set to be an even greater priority then when Ugbo leaves and possibly a few more leave.
Whilst permanent moves may always be preferable, Sheffield Wednesday’s showing in the loan market, and the capture of Beadle in particular, proves that Rohl has made Wednesday a much more attractive place for well-run Premier League clubs like Brighton to send their young stars.
Danny Rohl doesn’t get his striker
Going into last month, a striker was the main priority for the Owls. They got one through the doors early on in Ugbo, and although he’s shown some positive signs, it seems hopeful that he’ll be the man to fire the Owls to Championship safety this season.
McGuire would’ve been a huge signing and a potentially season-defining capture for Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday. Poveda will certainly add some bite to the Wednesday attack and if he’s deployed as a no.10, it’ll free up Josh Windass to play as a striker more regularly.
So that signing could prove to be a saving grave for Rohl; providing that Poveda can find fitness and find form after a tough spell at Elland Road.
Central midfielder also not signed
Another area that Rohl was widely reported to be keen on bolstering was in central midfield, specifically in front of defence.
The Owls offloaded John Buckley, Tyreeq Bakinson, and George Byers in the window but failed to bring in a new central midfielder, so this may be a position that Rohl now finds himself light on.
Momo Diaby’s recent return to action is a positive. He could go on to play a key role in the second half of the season, and Rohl will be hoping that Will Vaulks can return to his best form and that Jeff Hendrick can find fitness and play some kind of role in the side.
Without a new midfield signing though, there seems to be added pressure on Barry Bannan; not only to lead the team, but to maintain his positive current form and most importantly, not get injured.
A quick word on Sheffield Wednesday departures
Leading on from the last point, Byers’ exit raised a few eyebrows, and Lee Gregory should also feel very aggrieved at not sealing a deadline day exit.
Derby County wanted him but it was reported that the Owls wanted a big bulk of his wages paying, despite him being out of contract in the summer and currently out of Rohl’s first-team plans.
Wednesday will now have to pay all of his wages until the summer and that seems like a poor financial decision from the club, who also opted to keep Michael Smith despite interest throughout the window.
Hendrick remains after many thought he would move on and free up a loan space in the side, and Wednesday no doubt did well to keep Marvin Johnson; though again, whether that was a smart financial move given the fact that Ipswich Town bid £1million for the 33-year-old, remains to be seen.
Overall thoughts and rating out of 10
It’s hard to be frustrated with the club for how the winter transfer window panned out.
Yes, the finger can be pointed for the months leading up to it, with Sheffield Wednesday looking like a rather unstable club with plenty of drama behind the scenes and an unfriendly league position to match, but bringing in four decent players on loan, despite the aforementioned factors, is a pretty good haul.
Not signing a striker was the main downfall of the month, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying; or maybe it was, with the late pursuit of McGuire proving too late. And not signing a new midfielder closely follows.
Many still believe that Rohl has enough to keep Sheffield Wednesday in the league. And that seems true, barring any key injuries or drop-offs in form from individuals, given how well the Owls have performed in the last several weeks.
Overall, a rating of 6/10 for Sheffield Wednesday’s showing in the transfer window seems fair; there were some positives in the signings of Beadle and Poveda in particular, but enough negatives to leave fans wondering what might’ve been in January, and what might be in store between now and May.