Sheffield Wednesday will struggle to sign key transfer target as teammate closes in on £5.2m move

A few names are on Sheffield Wednesday’s transfer watch list before the summer.

Sheffield Wednesday has likely been compiling a list of potential summer additions for some time, but it appears that Danny Rohl intends to retain the majority of his current team.

Josh Windass is one of the players with whom the Owls are in discussions about his future with the team.

He claims that Wednesday and his agency are in talks, and that Rohl’s continued presence would probably entice him and a couple of his colleagues to pledge their futures to the squad.

The club’s current loan players, Ian Poveda, James Beadle, and Ike Ugbo—three of whom Sheffield Wednesday hopes to re-sign this summer—might feel the same way.

While a prospective trade for Ugbo could be more difficult given the current state of his original club Troyes, Beadle and Poveda might be easier bargains for the Owls.

They have two games remaining in Ligue 2 to close the five-point deficit and get safe. The French team is beginning to clean up their books in preparation for the summer as they now face relegation twice in a row.

Troyes transfer latest is a key indication to Sheffield Wednesday

Mama Balde has apparently been close to joining French powerhouse Lyon after spending this season on loan from Troyes.

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.

After scoring 12 goals for Troyes in the previous season’s French top tier, winger Balde has assisted three goals and scored twice in 20 Ligue 1 games for Lyon.

Troyes reportedly paid €3 million for Ugbo in 2022, according to Transfermarkt. In his 25 Ligue 1 outings for Troyes the previous season, he scored just twice. However, in the 2023–24 Championship season, he scored 11 goals (four for Cardiff City and seven in 18 games for Sheffield Wednesday).

Troyes, then, isn’t offering their players at a steep discount this summer. They will undoubtedly want their €3 million payment returned, as they reportedly paid for Ugbo only a few years ago.

Another reason why Sheffield Wednesday may struggle to sign Ike Ugbo

In addition to probably needing to spend a lot of money to sign Ugbo this summer, the fact that he’s currently excelling in the Championship will only make him more desirable.

Many teams in England and Europe may be considering Ugbo and his circumstances in Troyes, considering him to be a potentially wise addition.

Ugbo performed well when playing for Rohl, a highly technical and European-style coach. This implies to other European teams that Ugbo has the potential to be a real asset to their squad.

A permanent move for the Canadian international seems ambitious, but there will be plenty of teams willing to outbid Sheffield Wednesday for Ugbo.

But Ugbo has performed at his peak with Rohl and the Owls. Although Ugbo could prefer to go back to S6, Troyes will need to make sure they’re protecting themselves in the transfer market, and a sizable price for the highly effective Ugbo would help to do that. Troyes is rapidly falling down the French football pyramid.

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