“Would be a really good signing” – Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit urges Owls to sign ex-Burnley star on a free
Andre Gray has plenty of experience at Championship level and has been picked out as a potential addition at Hillsborough
Sheffield Wednesday’s slow start to the 2023-24 Championship season may be attributed to the disjointed summer they had with a managerial change and the arrival of multiple new players.
FLW’s fan pundit believes that if Sheffield Wednesday were to sign a free agent, it should be an experienced striker like Andre Gray, who has scored goals in the Championship before.
Gray’s ability to find the back of the net in both the Championship and Premier League makes him a potentially good addition to Sheffield Wednesday’s squad, but it remains to be seen if the club has the ambition and funds to secure his signature.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sheffield Wednesday had somewhat of a disjointed summer with a managerial change following their promotion from League One and a flurry of new players arriving in quick succession, and their slow start to the 2023-24 Championship season is perhaps a result of that.
The Owls now have Xisco Munoz in the dugout but the Spaniard has only been able to pick up one point from his first five league matches in charge.
Some 12 new faces have arrived at the South Yorkshire outfit over the summer and whilst the transfer window has officially closed for EFL clubs, there is still a way that the Owls could add to their squad if needs be – through the free agents market.
Which free agents should Sheffield Wednesday try to sign?
FLW’s Owls fan pundit Callum Maxted believes that if any free agent is going to come in at Hillsborough in the next few weeks or months then it will be a striker.
And he has outlined experienced attacker Andre Gray as a potential addition to Xisco’s ranks following his departure from Greek outfit Aris Salonika recently.
“The only one I’d really like to see is Andre Gray,” Callum said when speaking to Football League World.
“He’s the only one who would have anything to offer – I think that’s the area that they would be looking at most for the squad and he’s experienced.
“I think he’s worked for Munoz before so that might be helpful.
“He’s scored a number of goals for a number of different Championship teams and I think that’s really important to have that experience in a team like this where you have that inexperience, so I think he would be a really good signing if we could get it over the line.”
Gray only moved out to Greece last summer to join Aris, where he scored 13 goals in his one and only full season for the club.
After just one appearance in the 2023-24 season though, Gray’s contract was cancelled by mutual consent, allowing him to potentially return home to England to find a new team to play for.
Would Andre Gray be a good signing for Sheffield Wednesday?
Wednesday’s lack of goals this season so far has been very startling, with four goals in five matches being the second lowest in the entire division.
Xisco isn’t lacking in numbers there with Michael Smith, Lee Gregory, Ashley Fletcher, Callum Paterson, Anthony Musaba, Mallik Wilks and Josh Windass all either having striker as their natural position or they are capable of featuring there, but there’s a lack of cutting edge at Championship level.
And whilst he may now be 32 years of age, Gray has showed time and time again that he can score goals in the second tier so he would be a decent addition.
Munoz will know what he can do having managed the striker at Watford, although he was the manager who let him join QPR on loan in 2021 from the Hornets.
His 57 goals in 148 appearances in the second tier of English football, as well as the times he has found the back of the net in the Premier League, means that Gray would be a decent addition for many Championship sides – whether Wednesday have the ambition and funds to tempt him to Hillsborough though is another matter.
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