Sheffield Wednesday look to have a new striker near the top of their summer transfer wishlist this summer.
As things stand, the only strikers currently at Sheffield Wednesday for next season are Bailey Cadamarteri, Michael Smith, and Mallik Wilks.
Danny Rohl has already seen Lee Gregory join Mansfield Town whilst the loans of Ashley Fletcher and Ike Ugbo have come to an end.
So a new striker, as well as a new goalkeeper, look like the two most pressing matters for Sheffield Wednesday in the upcoming summer transfer window.
And the Owls have seen links to Duncan McGuire reignited ahead of the summer transfer window, with Rohl also keen on a return for Ugbo.
But what is the current situation with both strikers? And who should Rohl decide to bring in this summer?
Duncan McGuire to Sheffield Wednesday latest
Sheffield Wednesday tried and failed to sign USMNT striker McGuire form Orlando City on deadline day in February.
Blackburn Rovers won the race but a paperwork error on their part meant that McGuire returned to Orlando, where he’s since scored five goals in 11 MLS outings this season.
Earlier in May, reports revealed that Sheffield Wednesday have kept tabs on McGuire, who is out of contract at the end of this year.
He has interest from elsewhere in Europe and Blackburn Rovers are also keen on reigniting their interest, with recent reports revealing that two unnamed English clubs recently watched McGuire in action for Orlando City in the MLS.
McGuire recently said on summer interest from Blackburn: “It’s tough to say. That was a pretty bad mistake, a pretty bad mistake by them.
“I’d be open to maybe having a conversation but it would have to be a lot to get me to go back there.”
Ike Ugbo to Sheffield Wednesday latest
Ugbo joined the Owls during the January transfer window and went on to score seven goals in 18 Championship appearances for the Owls.
He scored both goals in the 2-0 win vs Birmingham City, both goals in the 2-1 win vs Bristol City, and the only goal in a 1-0 win vs Rotherham United in March.
Despite nearly going two months without a goal, Canadian international Ugbo kept on putting in the work off the ball and eventually played a huge role in keeping the Owls in the Championship.
His parent club Troyes are now facing relegation from the French Ligue 2 and player sales at the club have already begun, with Wednesday reportedly desperate to bring him back on a permanent basis this summer.
Duncan McGuire vs Ike Ugbo
Both strikers are very good, clearly. But both may be very expensive for whoever wants to sign them this summer, especially for Sheffield Wednesday who likely don’t have much in the way of transfer resources for this summer.
Owner Dejphon Chansiri has worked on a budget in the last few years and has improvements to the training ground and a new contract for Rohl to oversee this summer.
So transfers may be resurrected to frees and loans, perhaps with one or two paid signings, so it could come down to a matter of cost.
And if that’s the case then it may be Ugbo who is the better fit for Sheffield Wednesday. McGuire is slightly younger at 23, already has growing interest from England and Europe and he’ll arrive at whichever club signs him in match shape too, with the 2024 MLS season current underway, so he certainly won’t come cheap.
Ugbo meanwhile; his parent club Troyes look set to be relegated from Ligue 2, and whether or not they can realistically charge a substantial fee for what would technically be a French third tier player remains unlikely.
And what’s more is that Ugbo is already tried and tested in the Rohl set up. It’s a tough system that requires a lot of energy and quality, and we saw with Ugbo that even when he wasn’t scoring, he was contributing to the overall style of play and helping Sheffield Wednesday to win games.
So that might make Ugbo more desirable in the eyes of Rohl, though it’s clear that McGuire is someone who the Owls like and have followed for a while now.
It’ll be a difficult task signing either player this summer, though it feels like Ugbo would be the safer bet, and perhaps the cheaper option too, albeit still not that cheap in terms of Sheffield Wednesday money.
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