Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping Saturday’s impressive victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup can be a springboard to launch their season even further.
The Owls have had a decent season so far in league and cup, as the Owls sit second in League One, just five points behind Plymouth Argyle, and now face a fourth round draw of the FA Cup against Fleetwood Town.
While things are going well on the pitch, on Wednesday there are no signings yet in this January transfer window. Heading into the window opening, it looked like the Owls would be looking to bring in some defensive reinforcements as they had an injury crisis at the back; however, that has eased in recent weeks, and it appears to have allowed Darren Moore to really gauge what the team needs.
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There have been several names linked to Wednesday in recent days and weeks, and Moore was asked if the club would consider permanent signings or loan deals.
He told Yorkshire Live: “I think it will probably be more loans. We think with this group there are probably a few positions we could change or strengthen or look to add support for the second half of the season.
“If we get injured, we will need adequate cover there. They’re probably loans really in terms of what we’ll need going into the second half of the season. The dynamics of football dictate in terms of games and injuries, so we have to look at a lot of things and take them into consideration.
“Once the window closes we have to keep going, so it’s all about making sure we have enough competition and cover in the team.”
Moore also went on to say that if defender Mark McGuinness left Hillsborough this month, as expected, they would look to replace the defender with another player on loan.
He added: “That’s what we do. This is to look at the availability of players there. We have Mark and you can see how well he has done for us. If we have to look for another, so be it. But at the same time, we are delighted to reunite with Dominic Iorfa and Akin (Famewo), as well as Reece (James) and Palms (Liam Palmer).
“But if we have to go in and find another one, we’re happy to do that and get into that loan market and see who’s out there, like we did with Mark.”
Quiz: Start 2023 by testing your Sheffield Wednesday knowledge – Can you get 16/16 in this quiz? What year was Wednesdays founded?
1857 1867 1877 1887
The verdict
Sheffield Wednesday and Moore have been very smart with their recent transfer activity; they have brought players to the club who have something to prove and defend.
Wednesday is not in a position where he can just go out and spend so much money on this or that player. So what Moore has done well is use the loan market to his advantage and bring in players like McGuinness and Alex Mighten who don’t play regularly at their parent clubs and want to come to Hillsborough and impress.
