Sheffield Wednesday are desperate to sign this midfielder on a free transfer.
Sheffield Wednesday only secured their Championship safety after beating Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday, following a chaotic 2023/24 campaign for the Owls.
But already there’s planning for the next season. Sheffield Wednesday are reportedly set to make improvements to the training ground after Danny Rohl and Dejphon Chansiri held positive talks, and there’s also rumours that the Owls want to re-sign James Beadle.
Another name who Wednesday want back is Ian Poveda. The Leeds United loan man shone for Sheffield Wednesday following his deadline day loan move, with reports earlier in the year claiming that Leeds were set to release the 24-year-old and that the Owls wanted him back.
Journalist Alex Miller has now confirmed that Rohl does indeed want Poveda back this summer with a fresh update.
Ian Poveda to Sheffield Wednesday latest
Taking to X, Miller revealed that Poveda is a ‘key target’ for Sheffield Wednesday this summer, following his ‘huge impact’ on loan in S6.
But Miller also reveals that Sheffield Wednesday look set to face competition from elsewhere in the Championship and from abroad for Poveda’s signature this summer.
Miller posted on X:
Poveda made 10 Championship appearances for Sheffield Wednesday and claimed one assist. Though he failed to feature in the last five games for Wednesday owing to a hamstring injury that he picked up in the 2-0 win over QPR in April.
The one issue Sheffield Wednesday face over Ian Poveda deal
Ability-wise, there’s no doubt about Poveda. He showed his magic during his loan spell at Hillsborough with fans rapidly warming to him and making him something of a cult hero in the process.
Goals and assists weren’t really there for Poveda. But his overall creativity and positivity on the pitch enabled Sheffield Wednesday to become a real threat; Wednesday won six of the 10 games he started and up until the final three games of the season, they couldn’t win without him in the team.
At 24 years old, he remains a young player too. But he really needs to crack on now after some tough years at Leeds and his spell with Wednesday has certainly set him up for a big summer move, and one that could really shape the next few years of his career.
Having had such an illustrious youth career with the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City among others, Poveda will still be aiming for the top. Though whether he feels he can reach the top with Wednesday remains to be seen.
If Rohl stays and Sheffield Wednesday go through with all the off-field changes, and then have a good summer window, there’s a very good chance they could challenge for promotion next season.
So for Poveda, Wednesday will surely be an attractive option. But expect him to bide his time and get back to full fitness before making a firm decision.