Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer thinks one of the Owls’ January signings isn’t good enough.
Sheffield Wednesday ended a very quiet January transfer window a frantic deadline day, bringing in two new names in Kristian Pedersen and Ian Poveda.
The pair join on loan and join the likes of James Beadle and Ike Ugbo who joined on loan earlier in the winter transfer window.
On the whole, it’s not a bad transfer window for Danny Rohl and his side, but the Owls will surely rue not bringing in another striker and perhaps a more defensive midfielder.
But fans are excited; about Poveda more than anyone. The former Barcelona youth star has failed to live up to the early hype but remains a young player at 23, and remains a player with plenty of potential.
Rohl could well be the man to finally fulfil some of that potential, but former Owls man Palmer believes the Poveda signing isn’t all that exciting.
Carlton Palmer doubts Ian Poveda after Sheffield Wednesday switch
Speaking to Football League World about Sheffield Wednesday’s loan signing of Poveda from Leeds United, Palmer said:
“It’s indicative Sheffield Wednesday are in the league I suppose and the quality of player they can bring in. Hopefully – for the manager – he has something to prove and he [Poveda] will come in and add something different to the squad.”
Palmer added:
“I don’t think he has got the quality – in my opinion. That’s why he’s been loaned out to the teams he has been. If he had the quality, he would be playing at Leeds United. Okay, Leeds are challenging near the top of the table, so we will see.”
Poveda can prove the doubters wrong in Owls relegation scrap
After a few poor seasons and a couple of uninspiring loan spells with Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool, Poveda now has to show what he can bring to the table, or risk becoming a free agent again in the summer.
His Leeds deal is out but he could play himself to another deal or an exciting summer move elsewhere if he can impress for Sheffield Wednesday; and if there’s ever a time that Wednesday needed a hero, it’s now.
Poveda has that little bit of magic that is needed in a relegation scrap, but he just lacks the consistency and perhaps the fitness to show it on a regular basis, or to its full extent.
And it’ll take a few weeks or games for Poveda to get back up to full speed after a stop-start first half of the season at Leeds, where he featured seven times in the Championship.
But when he’s fit and firing, Poveda could be the man for Sheffield Wednesday, and he’ll want to prove doubters like Palmer wrong.
To say Poveda doesn’t have the quality seems unfair; he wouldn’t have played for so many huge clubs as a youth player if he didn’t have enough quality, it’s just a case of things not panning out so far.
But he’s still young, and playing under an exciting coach in Rohl could bring the best out of Poveda who is a very technical and attacking-minded player.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Poveda fares at Hillsborough.