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
On the deadline day in February, Sheffield Wednesday attempted but was unable to sign USMNT striker McGuire from Orlando City.
Although Blackburn Rovers prevailed in the race, McGuire had to return to Orlando due to a paperwork issue, and he has since scored five goals in 11 MLS games this season.
Sheffield Wednesday has reportedly been monitoring McGuire, whose contract expires at the end of this year, according to claims that surfaced earlier in May.
Other European teams are interested in him, and Blackburn Rovers are eager to show their interest again. According to recent rumours, two English clubs that will remain nameless recently watched McGuire play for Orlando City in the Major League Soccer.
Regarding Blackburn’s summer interest, McGuire recently stated, “It’s tough to say.” They made a really poor mistake there, and it was quite unfortunate.
“It would take a lot to convince me to go back there, but I would be open to maybe having a conversation.”
Ike Ugbo to Sheffield Wednesday latest
In his 18 Championship appearances for the Owls, Ugbo scored seven goals after joining the team during the January transfer window.
In March, he scored the sole goal in a 1-0 victory over Rotherham United, both goals in a 2-1 victory over Bristol City, and both goals in a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City.
Ugbo, a Canadian international, persevered in working hard off the ball despite almost spending two months without a goal, and he ultimately contributed significantly to the Owls’ championship survival.
The French Ligue 2 team Troyes, his parent club, is currently in danger of being relegated, and player sales have already started. Wednesday is apparently in a frantic attempt to bring him back permanently this summer.
Duncan McGuire vs Ike Ugbo
It’s obvious that both strikers are excellent. However, both might be quite costly for whoever decides to buy them this summer, particularly for Sheffield Wednesday, who probably won’t have many transfer options available.
In the past few years, owner Dejphon Chansiri has worked on a budget, improved the training facility, and given Rohl a new contract to manage this summer.
Transfers might therefore be brought back to free agents and loans, maybe with one or two paid signings, so the decision may ultimately come down to price.
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.
Thus, that may make Ugbo more appealing to Rohl, even though it’s obvious that the Owls have liked and watched McGuire for some time.
It will be challenging to recruit either player this summer, but it seems like Ugbo would be the better choice overall and maybe the less expensive one as well—though still not very inexpensive when it comes to Sheffield Wednesday funds.
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