Dian Stanchev
Sheffield Wednesday’s perfect July: Offload Steven Fletcher and bring in Jack Baldwin
Since Jos Luhukay’s appointment as the Sheffield Wednesday boss, the Owls have been performing better than before. At least that’s what we saw towards the end of last season.
Nevertheless, the South Yorkshire outfit finished in the bottom half of the table, and improvement is needed if they’re to achieve a higher league position this term.
Here are some things Wednesday need to do this month to hope for a positive campaign.
Offload Steven Fletcher
Fletcher’s performances haven’t been terrible but as per stats, he scores once every 3 matches. That’s not a great return, considering he is one of their main strikers. Last season, he was unlucky with injuries and missed the second part of the campaign.
However, before getting injured, the former Marseille man had played 20 games and scored merely 3 goals. The 31-year-old is one of the top earners at Sheffield but his performances haven’t been convincing enough. Offloading him would certainly help the Owls cut down wage expenses.
Also, with another 6 strikers in the team, Fletcher should leave the club. His absence is unlikely to cause harm since Luhukay will still have the likes of Sam Winnall, Fernando Forestieri, Gary Hooper, Jordan Rhodes, Atdhe Nuhiu and Lucas Joao.
Replace Jack Hunt
One might think its unnecessary to replace Jack Hunt since the Owls still have Liam Palmer, Ash Baker and Kieran Lee as right-back options. However, Sheffield must sign a new player for that role.
After all, Baker is yet to play a full 90 minutes for the senior side, while Lee looks more comfortable as a defensive midfielder.
Lots of fans have taken to social media to ask the club to get Sam Byram from West Ham. It remains to be seen whether the Owls have enough funds to sign the former Leeds player but it goes without saying that a new defender is the need of the hour.
If we replace Hunt with Byram and bring in Venancio that’s class business
— Ozzy (@OSWFC_) July 4, 2018
Sam Byram 😉 #swfc
— brad (@brxdask) July 4, 2018
Surly something in Sam Byram to us then #Swfc
— Daniel Pellegrina (@DPellegrina93) July 4, 2018
Find at least two new centre-backs
Wednesday’s biggest problem right now is the lack of solid central defenders. Currently, they only have Tom Lees and Joost van Aken in the squad. The Owls were hoping to strike a permanent deal for Frederico Venancio, but the option fell through, as he has signed a 4-year contract with Vitoria Setubal.
Read More: What does the future hold for Sheffield Wednesday’s 21-year-old starlet amidst Leeds interest
Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony confirmed on Twitter that the Owls had called for club captain Jack Baldwin, but denied rumours of his departure. The Sheffield side should, however, try everything in their power to get Baldwin who’s an extremely solid centre-back.
