Sheffield Wednesday have appointed a new recruitment chief ahead of January.
Sheffield Wednesday have brought in former Arsenal, Cardiff City, and Manchester United figure Kevin Beadell as their new Head of Recruitment.
He replaces David Downes who left at the start of last summer and arrives just in time for the January transfer window.
It’s a crucial month for the Owls, and Beadell’s arrival suggests that owner Dejphon Chansiri is ready to bring some new faces to Hillsborough.
But the controversial Chansiri has been told to leave matters of football to those ‘who know what they are doing’.
Carlton Palmer urges Chansiri to ‘stay out of footballing matters’
Former Sheffield Wednesday man Carlton Palmer has discussed Beadell’s arrival at the club and the Owls’ recruitment in recent seasons.
He told Football League World:
“It is a very positive move from the club as recruitment in recent years has been very, very poor to say the least, and the recruitment in the summer, considering they got promoted from League One to the Championship, was absolutely dreadful.
“The chairman should stay out of footballing matters and let those who know what they are doing get on with their jobs.
“Kevin was part of Manchester United’s recruitment under Sir Alex Ferguson, and also spent a decade at Arsenal specialising in emerging talent in the UK and Europe market.
“Kevin will hopefully work closely with Danny in identifying the right players to bring to the football club.”
Sheffield Wednesday remain in last place of the Championship table with 10 points separating them and Huddersfield Town in 21st, despite a draw vs Leicester City and a win over Blackburn Rovers last week.
Palmer continued:
“January becomes an important window as the club have strung together a couple of results to give them some hope that they could still survive.
“I still think it’s a tall order, but the news of Kevin joining seems like a very, very positive step moving forward.”
Sheffield Wednesday have people in place
Beadell’s arrival almost completes this new-look backroom at Sheffield Wednesday, barring a potential CEO which many fans think would be the final piece of the puzzle.
Beadell and Danny Rohl look set to work closely on Sheffield Wednesday’s recruitment front next month and it could be an exciting month with a new profile of player potentially set to arrive at the club.
Chansiri obviously has the final say, though, and it seems like he’s had a fair say in recruitment over the past few seasons, especially last summer with nobody to really oversee matters.
But like Palmer says, Chansiri now needs to take a proper step back and just finance whatever January moves that Beadell and Rohl want.
There’s plenty of positions for Rohl to consider bolstering and it looks like Sheffield Wednesday could test some new markets, with Beadell previously hinting that leagues like the MLS could be scoured in the New Year.
A striker seems like a real priority for the Owls but Rohl will be cautious of taking away any game-time from young star Bailey Cadamarteri.
Then it’s about adding quality wherever they can, not just depth.
Sheffield Wednesday seem to have favoured quantity over quality in recent seasons but now it needs to be about quality, with Rohl also hoping to bring in some younger players who he can work his magic on.
Sheffield Wednesday take on Stoke City today.
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