Sheffield Wednesday have been linked with a January swoop for an experienced Premier League midfielder.
Sheffield Wednesday look set to do business this month, as they vie for what previously seemed like an unlikely survival bid in the Championship.
But a run of five wins in their last eight, including wins in their last two, has seen the Owls move up into 22nd place of the table and now just three points from safety.
The Owls’ January business though looks set to be decisive in their season and the latest name to be linked with a move to Hillsborough is Isaac Hayden.
Isaac Hayden once again linked with Sheffield Wednesday
Hayden, 28, was previously linked with a move to Xisco Munoz‘s Sheffield Wednesday last summer, but opted for a loan move to Belgium with Standard Liege instead.
He’s since featured 10 times in the Jupiler Pro League but now looks like he could be returning to England ahead of his Newcastle contract expiry in the summer.
The Telegraph report that Hayden ‘has interest from several Championship clubs’ including Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, and Plymouth Argyle.
The Owls currently have Jeff Hendrick on loan from Newcastle United but a knee injury has been keeping him out of the side, whilst fellow midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson has been tipped to join Hayden at Standard Liege.
Steve Bruce favourite would be a huge coup for Danny Rohl
Danny Rohl needs to find a good balance between youth and experience this month.
He looks determined to usher in the next generation of Wednesday teens and also bring in younger players who he can mould to his liking, which is obviously great, but Rohl will know that experience remains key.
And Hayden, who has 257 career appearances with 118 of those coming in the Premier League, would add a degree of top flight quality and experience to the side.
The Englishman can play either as a centre-back or as a holding midfielder, though former Owls and Newcastle boss Steve Bruce believed Hayden’s best position was at centre-back.
Bruce, who rated Hayden highly, hailed the player’s versatility and that would of course be useful to Rohl who currently lacks depth in quality within the first-team.
And with Rohl at the helm and Sheffield Wednesday playing much better football, Wednesday will no doubt be a more attractive place to play football now than it was when Munoz was at the helm, and Hayden’s Newcastle teammate Hendrick could vouch for that.
This is an exciting link but Sheffield Wednesday would need to act fast to get this one over the line, given the amount of interest, and hope that Liege and Newcastle can first agree to terminate his loan which seems probable given Hayden’s lack of game time at the club.
Leave a Reply