Breaking News:Sheffield Wednesday in Hot Pursuit of Next Nuhiu
|Sheffield Wednesday fans will be ecstatic when the new Championship season begins this weekend, buoyed by the amount of business done this summer to improve the Owls’ team.
This busy transfer season has seen nine new faces arrive at Hillsborough, but Danny Rohl’s side have yet to find a new first-team striker to lead the line week in and week out, with ex-Manchester United youngster Charlie McNeill looking more like a future starter in attack.
The South Yorkshire club will continue to pursue attacking signings, and according to rumors, a deal for one targeted target might come down to the wire on transfer deadline day.
Wednesday still chasing deal for former loanee
According to football journalist Alex Miller last weekend, Wednesday are still attempting to re-sign former loan player Ike Ugbo on a permanent basis, but face competition from Sunderland in the Championship.
Speaking after his side’s goalless friendly draw with CD Leganes, Rohl expects a deal to bring Ugbo into the building to be a “photo finish,” with real concerns that the ex-Chelsea youth player may choose to join the Black Cats instead of reuniting with his former manager.
How Ugbo can be Wednesday’s next Nuhiu
This would be a significant blow for Wednesday, who are in desperate need of a key man to score goals ahead of what might be an exciting season, with Lee Gregory no longer on the books up front and Bailey Cadamarteri also being linked with a loan move away. If Ugbo were to return and take up where he left off, he could become a new cult hero for Wednesday supporters to remember, in the same way that Atdhe Nuhiu is still revered around Hillsborough for his earlier goalscoring heroics.
Despite his massive 6’6″ size, Nuhiu went on to score several exquisite goals for the Owls, the best of which came in 2018, when he scored an incredible solo goal against Preston North End.
The Kosovo international would make 277 appearances for Wednesday over seven seasons, scoring 50 goals and providing 27 assists, making Nuhiu the Owls’ joint tenth-highest goalscorer.
Ugbo might become the South Yorkshire club’s next Nuhiu if he returns to Wednesday soon, having been a nomad after leaving Chelsea for good, knowing that he would eventually require a permanent place to call his own where he can succeed. Ugbo scored an impressive 11 goals for both Cardiff and Wednesday last season, the same number that saw Nuhiu become the Owls’ top scorer in the league for the 2017/18 season. He scored seven of those while wearing Rohl’s blue and white stripes, partnering with Anthony Musaba to devastating effect.
According to Capology, the £15k-per-week man might be the final piece of the puzzle Rohl is looking for ahead of what could be a very positive Championship season, as the Owls try to be far above the relegation zone and a potential surprise package.