Sheffield Wednesday may be looking to bolster one particular position in the summer transfer window.
There’s no doubting that Sheffield Wednesday have another busy summer ahead of them.
Not only do they have several first-team players out of contract but they might also have a managerial change to contend with.
Regardless of whether or not the Owls stay in the Championship, boss Danny Rohl is attracting interest from elsewhere and could yet be tempted by a club with bigger ambitions.
Whoever the manager is will have plenty of positions to bolster though, with central midfield now looking like a priority.
Sheffield Wednesday midfield crisis emerges
Up until the 6-0 defeat vs Ipswich Town last weekend, it looked as though the Owls had a fairly balanced team.
But injuries to Barry Bannan and Ian Poveda have opened up a gaping hole in the midfield, with Rohl now facing a bit of a midfield crisis.
Anthony Musaba could step in for Poveda should he be injured, but Bannan will be very difficult to replace.
Momo Diaby is the only fit central midfielder left available after Bannan and fellow starter Will Vaulks, but he’s been very disappointing so far under Rohl, who also has Jeff Hendrick unfit and not even registered to the team.
It comes after the January transfer window where the Owls loaned out midfielders Tyreeq Bakinson and George Byers and cancelled John Buckley’s loan from Blackburn Rovers.
Ball-winning midfielder is a long-standing issue for Sheffield Wednesday
To add to the current midfield woes, Sheffield Wednesday have been lacking a player who can operate efficiently in the defensive midfield position.
Vaulks, on his day, can arguably do that job better than most in the Championship.
But he’s too inconsistent and perhaps viewed as more of a box-to-box midfielder than a deeper-lying ball-winner, as things stand anyway.
So with Vaulks among those out of contract in the summer, the need for a steely midfielder will become even greater.
Sunderland captain Corry Evans set to become a free agent
One potentially perfect solution to this Sheffield Wednesday issue is Sunderland captain Corry Evans, who sees his Sunderland contract expire in the summer.
The 33-year-old has 409 career appearances to his name, with 291 of those coming in the Championship, largely at Blackburn.
He was captain there as well under Tony Mowbray and followed him to the Stadium of Light where he helped get Sunderland over the line in League One.
And during Sunderland’s return to the Championship, Evans was looking good, featuring 24 times in the Championship before picking up a knee injury in January last year.
He’s been sidelined since, but the 66-cap Northern Ireland international recently returned for Sunderland U21s in a derby clash vs Newcastle United, scoring with a ranged effort as well.
He’s exalt the kind of midfielder Sheffield Wednesday need; he’s experienced, a ball-winner and also a very good passer of the ball, and if he can return to near-full fitness, then he’ll be a solid signing for a lot of teams in the Championship.
As per Sofascore, Evans recorded 44.6 touchers per game in the Championship last season and 28.6 accurate passes.
More importantly though, he averaged 2 tackles per game, 1.3 interceptions and 1 tackle; Vaulks averages 2.4 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 1.4 clearances, so Rohl knows what kind of player Evans could be under him.
What’s more; Evans earns a reported £6.4k-a-week at Sunderland which could make him very affordable for the Owls, who have players like Josh Windass on £18k-a-week, and Evans showed before with Sunderland that he’s not afraid to drop down into League One.
With Sunderland heavily favouring younger players, a new deal for the older Evans seems very unlikely.
There’s a few pieces missing from the puzzle for Sheffield Wednesday right now and there’ll be even more in the summer, but Evans could certainly plug a gap in the midfield.
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