Sheffield Wednesday’s pursuit of Ike Ugbo is finally set to come to an end this week.
Sheffield Wednesday fans weren’t too excited when they snapped up Ugbo on loan in January, but have recently been desperate to bring him back.
The Owls have been trying to sign the striker permanently since the end of the season, having netted seven goals in the second half of the season.
Ugbo has attracted plenty of attention from across Europe though and had recently looked likely to join Sunderland.
However, after previously admitting he wanted to return to Hillsborough, it now looks like Wednesday are finally set to wrap up a deal for the Canadian.
Sheffield Wednesday set to pay more than expected for Ugbo
It was reported yesterday that Wednesday look set to sign Ugbo on a permanent contract before the end of the week, while it was initially believed that they had agreed a £2.5 million fee.
However, Darren Witcoop has now claimed they will be paying more than that for the 25-year-old.
Writing on X, Witcoop said: “As per @AlexMiller91 Sheffield Wednesday set to clinch the signing of Troyes striker Ike Ugbo, beating off interest from a number of clubs. Club were always confident of re-signing the Canadian with the player wanting a permanent return. Fee in region of £3million.”
The Owls won’t have too many complaints about the fee though, having originally been quoted around £4.5m for his signature.
The Yorkshire outfit haven’t splashed that much cash since they went all out and spent a whopping £8m on Jordan Rhodes seven years ago.
Rhodes went onto score 20 goals in 112 appearances for Wednesday, though expectations of Ugbo will be much higher.
Can Ugbo justify his seven-figure price tag?
The forward picked up a huge nine points alone for the club last season and they could well have gone down if it wasn’t for him.
Ugbo is now surrounded by a lot more quality than his loan stint and should be given plenty more opportunities to find the back of the net.
The Troyes attacker should make a huge difference to Wednesday’s chances of a top half finish and will excite fans massively.
It’s a huge statement for Wednesday to have beaten off all these teams and displays the direction in which Danny Rohl is taking them.