Sheffield Wednesday may have been dealt an early blow in their reported pursuit of this Championship striker.
Sheffield Wednesday are seemingly gearing up for a busy January transfer window.
The club recently appointed a new Head of Recruitment which has coincided with a couple of transfer rumours in the run up to January.
Brighton goalkeeper James Beadle was recently linked, as well as Birmingham City striker Scott Hogan.
A new striker looks like a priority in January, even despite the breakthrough of Bailey Cadamarteri, but it looks like the Owls could now struggle to get Hogan.
Birmingham City could lose Jay Stansfield to Ipswich Town
Wayne Rooney at Birmingham City doesn’t have too many striking options at his disposal.
Hogan is currently out of favour and being one of the higher earners at St Andrew’s, he looks like surplus to requirements as things stand.
But emerging reports have credited Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town with an interest in Birmingham City’s on loan forward Jay Stansfield.
The 21-year-old joined on loan from Fulham in the summer and started well, and although he’s lost his scoring touch since Rooney came in, he remains Blues’ starting no.9.
And with Birmingham City still struggling and Ipswich Town still performing well, Fulham may yet fancy recalling Stansfield and lending him to the Tractor Boys in the New Year, which would of course be a blow for Blues.
It could also prompt Birmingham City to keep hold of Hogan, which could then be a blow to Sheffield Wednesday should they have a genuine interest in the 31-year-old.
Could Sheffield Wednesday miss out on Scott Hogan?
Stansfield’s potential exit from Birmingham City would no doubt put Hogan’s exit on hold.
But Sheffield Wednesday will surely have other targets in mind, and Hogan may not be such a great fit anyway.
Although he’s experienced and proven at this level, having scored 67 times at Championship level in his career, he’s certainly past his best; Hogan has scored just once in 17 league outings this season, regularly failing to start for a Blues side that currently resides in 17th.
So for Danny Rohl, missing out on Hogan may not be such a blow after all.
And this emerging Ipswich Town transfer rumour cold even prompt Sheffield Wednesday to pursue and uncover new targets who might be a better fit, not only for the here and now, but for the future as well.
Sheffield Wednesday are back in action this weekend against Cardiff City where they’ll look to earn a third-straight home win in the Championship for the first time since early 2021.