OWLS SET TO FLY BACK INTO THE PICTURE
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY may not look too threatening now.
But it won’t be long before the Owls are baring their talons.
The £3m signing of Fernando Forestieri on deadline day took the club’s total spend during the last transfer window to a smidge under £9m.
It is 16 years since the Owls splurged that kind of cash in a single summer, 15 since so much was lavished on a single player – the goal-shy Belgian flop Gilles de Bilde.
Clearly, Wednesday are in rude health after a decade at death’s door, the elixir administered by Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri and January’s £30m takeover.
More illuminating is the fact that only the Championship’s ‘Big Four’ – Burnley, QPR, Middlesbrough and Derby – can boast a higher net spend.
Yet whilst the big boys have attracted ‘moneybags’ headlines, the Owls have slipped stealthily under the radar.
Mainly, that’s because these are formative steps, the first flexings of Chansiri’s financial muscles.
Everyone can see that Wednesday’s squad still lacks depth and genuine star quality.
But it doesn’t take long for word to get around that a club is waving their wallet around.
Players and their agents must be eyeing Hillsborough like Yogi eyes honey.
This time next year, don’t be surprised if manager Carlos Carvalhal has the best side in the division – and the title expectations to match.