Game-changing transfers vital to take Sheffield Wednesday to Danny Röhl ambition admits key man.
Transfer activity over the next few weeks and months will be vital to Sheffield Wednesday’s ability to turn their ‘bottom half’ squad to one capable of finishing in the upper reaches of the Championship.
That’s according to Owls assistant coach Chris Powell, who is looking forward to the challenge of taking the side to the next level in Danny Röhl’s first full season in management having heavily hinted that he expects to continue on the Wednesday staff beyond the end of his current contract next month.
Röhl signed a new contract to extend his deal at Hillsborough to 2027 last week, sparking the rumble of possibility with regard to how far the club could go in the coming years. The talented coach told German media at the time of his re-signing that he is targeting a top 10 finish in the Championship next season having pulled off a remarkable survival effort that saw them table eighth in the time since he was appointed manager.
Movements have been made in the transfer market as Wednesday go about what is expected to be a busy summer of activity. Money is expected to be available to Röhl for the right type of player.
On the forecast of a top 10 finish, Powell joked when speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: “No pressure then, Dan! Listen, it’s going to be a tough league again. Three brilliant teams have come out of it, but then you look at the three teams from the Premier League; Sheffield United, Burnley, Luton. Then you look at Portsmouth, Derby and Oxford. Then there are the teams that didn’t make it that got close; Middlesbrough, Norwich, West Brom, Leeds of course.
“We’ve got to be quite savvy in terms of how we approach it, top half would be a good thing to aim for, top 10. It does depend on the players we keep, there are a number of players out of contract. As everyone knows, it’s about recruitment and what we bring in. We managed to bring in one or two game-changers for us in January. Whether we’ll be able to loan them again or even sign them is important for Danny. We need a squad that is competitive, capable, then who knows?”
The Star have reported that Wednesday are understood to be keen on bringing January trio James Beadle, Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo back to the club, while interest is believed to be there on the likes of Arsenal striker Mika Biereth, Brest trickster Karamoko Dembélé and outgoing Brentford man Charlie Goode. Still at the outset of the transfer windmill, there are further names guaranteed to come to light and Powell has no doubt the importance of a game-changing summer at Hillsborough.
