Sheffield Wednesday can repeat Danny Rohl success with swoop for Julian Nagelsmann’s right-hand man: Opinion

The Owls have ultimately fallen short of the play-off fight, but there has been no danger of relegation and they look likely to end the season in the mid-table pack.

SWFC - sheffield wednesday players applaud — Image courtesy of: CRAIG BROUGH/REUTERS.

Their progress has been impressive and given the tough environment at Hillsborough with Dejphon Chansiri’s shackling ownership continuing to hold the club back. Rohl has drawn high praise for his work and amid growing links with Southampton and RB Leipzig, if feels increasingly likely that the German boss will be moving on sooner rather than later.

It will put Sheffield Wednesday in a tough position trying to build on Rohl’s work, but they might be able to replace him with another upcoming German coach in the form of Sandro Wagner.

Another emerging German

Sheffield Wednesday handed Rohl his first senior management job when appointing him. He had plenty of experience in the dugout though, holding analyst roles before playing a back in the coaching teams of Hansi Flick, Ralf Rangnick, Ralph Hasenhuttl and more.

Wagner’s journey has been a little different having embarked on a full and successful playing career before retirement. However, after a successful two-year stint leading SpVgg Unterhaching to the German third-tier with a points per game rate of 1.96 across 81 games, Wagner has become a key part of the Germany setup.

He started as a coach with the country’s youngsters and after a short spell as assistant manager of the U20s, the 37-year-old was promoted to the senior side. Wagner is the right-hand man of the extremely highly-regarded Julian Nagelsmann.

Wagner doesn’t have the coaching experience Rohl had upon his SWFC appointment. However, he holds a trusted role alongside one of Europe’s top bosses and has been lauded for his work early in his managerial career.

The former Bayern Munich striker is tipped for Bundesliga jobs in the years to come, but as they did with Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday can get ahead of the curve by eyeing him if they are left managerless this summer.

The obvious obstacle

Unfortunately for Sheffield Wednesday, there is can obvious obstacle in the pursuit of top coaches.

Credited has to be given for the appointment of Rohl, but his tenure has highlighted that even the brightest of minds in the dugout can only take the club so far.

Chansiri may hold hope of reaching the top but his day-to-day running continuously holds the Owls back. They’re never far away from peril either, with the recent delay in first-team players’ payments even putting them on the brink of a three-window transfer embargo.

It could be a big obstacle to landing someone like Wagner. However, Rohl’s tenure has shown how young coaches can really prove their worth in tough scenarios and the stature of Wednesday will prove tempting, even with their regular off-pitch wrangles.

‘Inevitable’ – Reporter delivers verdict on Danny Rohl’s future at Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday losing Danny Rohl this summer seems ‘inevitable’, BBC Sport’s Rob Staton believes.

Sheffield Wednesday face a real battle to keep hold of their head coach at the end of the season. SWFC’s season has started to fizzle out.

The Owls are sat in 13th place in the Championship table. They are eight points off the play-offs with six fixtures left to play.

Staton has delivered his verdict on their manager’s future at Hillsborough, as per BBC Sport: “With Southampton parting with Ivan Juric today, it feels like a matter of when not if they make a move for Owls boss Danny Rohl. They won’t be the only interested party. It seems inevitable the club will lose its biggest asset. How many of the out of contract players will also be minded to move on after this?

“Chairman Dejphon Chansiri bears complete responsibility and there are larger than ever calls for him to find a buyer and sell the club. However, a growing passion for change among Wednesday fans online didn’t translate to anger in the stands on Saturday.”