SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - MAY 4: Sheffield Wednesday head coach Danny Rohl celebrates with Barry Bannan at the final whistle during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday at Stadium of Light on May 4, 2024 in Sunderland, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
Sheffield Wednesday may now face uphill battle to sign key summer transfer target
Sheffield Wednesday have a few names on their transfer radar ahead of the summer.
Sheffield Wednesday will have been putting together a list of summer transfer targets for a while now, though it looks like Danny Rohl wants to keep the bulk of the squad he has already.
The Owls are in talks with a number of players regarding their futures at the club, with Josh Windass being one of them.
He says that his agent is in talks with Wednesday, and also that Rohl staying would likely tempt him and a few of his teammates into committing their futures to the club.
And that might be the same for the club’s current loan players, three of which Sheffield Wednesday want to re-sign this summer; James Beadle, Ian Poveda, and Ike Ugbo.
Beadle and Poveda may be more straightforward deals for the Owls, whilst a potential deal for Ugbo may be more complicated given the current situation regarding his parent club Troyes.
They have two games left to make up a five-point gap to safety in Ligue 2. Now staring at a second successive relegation, the French club are starting to clear their books ahead of the summer.
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Troyes transfer latest is a key indication to Sheffield Wednesday
Troyes are reportedly closing in on the sale of Mama Balde to French giants Lyon, with Balde having spent this season on loan with the club.
Troyes reportedly signed Balde for €3.5million in 2021 and now they’re set to sell him to Lyon for an initial €6million (£5.2million), potentially rising to €6.5million.
Balde, a winger, has scored twice and assisted three more in 20 Ligue 1 outings for Lyon so far this season, after netting 12 for Troyes in the French top flight last time round.
According to Transfermarkt, Troyes paid €3million for Ugbo in 2022. He netted just twice in 25 Ligue 1 appearances for Troyes last time round but scored 11 in the 2023/24 Championship season (four for Cardiff City and seven in 18 games for Sheffield Wednesday).
So Troyes aren’t selling their players on the cheap this summer. And having apparently paid €3million for Ugbo just a couple of years ago, they’ll surely want that fee back.
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Another reason why Sheffield Wednesday may struggle to sign Ike Ugbo
Not only would Dejphon Chansiri likely have to spend big to sign Ugbo this summer, but the fact that he’s now shone in the Championship will only put him further in the shop window.
There could be plenty of clubs in England and Europe looking at Ugbo and his situation at Troyes, and viewing him as a potentially shrewd signing.
He prevailed playing under Rohl who is a very technical and European-style coach, which will suggests to other European clubs that Ugbo is someone who could potentially really flourish with their team.
And there’ll be a lot of clubs out there who can outbid Sheffield Wednesday for Ugbo, too, so a permanent move for the Canadian international certainly seems to be an ambitious one.
But the Owls and Rohl have gotten the best out of Ugbo. A return to S6 may well be Ugbo’s preference but with Troyes plummeting down the French football pyramid, they’ll want to make sure they’re covering themselves in the transfer market, and a big fee for the in form Ugbo would help to do that.
