Macaulay Langstaff signs: 3 dreamy yet realistic Sheffield Wednesday transfers

Sheffield Wednesday’s first season back in the Championship has not been easy.

After defeating Barnsley in the play-off final at Wembley in May of last year, the Owls were promoted from League One, and they run the risk of dropping back to the third division right away.

Although Wednesday had the worst start to a season in club history, which led to Xisco Munoz’s firing in October, Danny Rohl’s performances and outcomes have greatly improved.

Although Rohl has done a fantastic job at Hillsborough to give his side a chance to survive, they are still in a dangerous situation, and the last day will determine their fate.

The majority of the Owls’ signings this season have been loans or free transfers, and while some have been successful, there have been a lot of failures as owner Dejphon Chansiri appears unwilling to engage in the transfer market.

With 19 players out of contract, including important players like Josh Windass and Barry Bannan, Rohl will have a massive rebuilding task in the summer, regardless of whatever division Wednesday plays in the following season.

In light of that, we examined three audacious yet feasible additions Wednesday may pursue this summer.

Kwame Poku

Rohl will probably need to add at least one new winger because it is unclear if Wednesday will be able to sign Ian Poveda from Leeds United on a permanent basis this summer.

The winger Poku of Peterborough United, who has had another fantastic season in League One this year, is one player he might target.

Poku made 44 appearances for Posh in all competitions last season, scoring six goals and dishing out twelve assists, including a play-off goal against the Owls. However, this season, he has dramatically increased his goal total.

The 22-year-old’s performance has not gone unnoticed, as Sunderland, Millwall, Stoke City, Bristol City, Ipswich Town, and West Bromwich Albion were all monitoring him prior to the January transfer window, per TEAMtalk.

This summer, Poku will have no shortage of suitors, and Wednesday should undoubtedly enter the race for his signature, even though they would face competition.

Poku is a player with a ton of talent and room to grow, so the Owls would be wise to invest in him. Darragh MacAnthony, the owner of Peterborough, is known for being a tough negotiator, but he will let his stars go for the right price, as he demonstrated with the January sale of Ephron Mason-Clark to Coventry City.

Tom Canton

Striker Cannon was initially targeted by Wednesday in January of last year, but he ended up joining Preston North End on loan from Everton.

The Owls renewed their interest in Cannon in the summer after he had eight goals and one assist in 21 games during his short stay at Deepdale. However, this time, they were unable to sign him as Leicester City signed him for a fee of £7.5 million in September.

Cannon didn’t make his Foxes debut until December due to an injury, but it appeared as though he was settling in after he scored three goals in two games against Millwall and Huddersfield Town in early January.

Since then, though, Cannon’s playing time has been restricted as Jamie Vardy, Patson Daka, and Kelechi Iheanacho have all appeared ahead of him. Manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged earlier this month that Cannon’s situation was “sad”.

“I feel the same way about Daka as I did at the beginning of the season. It’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because he trains so well every day. He could play and score a lot of goals for any other team, but since we have so many strikers at the club, I have to make a choice,” Maresca said on BBC Radio Leicester.

It appears improbable that Cannon will be a regular in the Premier League next season given his lack of playing time in recent months, and his future at King Power Stadium is unclear.

In order to have any chance of signing Cannon, Wednesday would need to remain in the second tier. If Cannon does become available this summer, there would be a lot of interest from Championship teams.

The Owls may struggle financially and could only be able to afford a loan agreement, but Cannon is the kind of player the team needs to sign this summer to persuade Rohl to stay.

Cannon would be a great fit for Rohl’s style of play because of his speed and ability to press, and he might be the prolific goalscorer Wednesday has been lacking.

Macaulay Langstaff

Wednesday will require the addition of more than one striker this summer because the contracts of Ike Ugbo and Ashley Fletcher are about to expire and Michael Smith and Lee Gregory are probably going to leave.

In the summer of 2022, Langstaff moved from Gateshead to Notts County. He had a fantastic debut season with the Magpies the previous year, scoring 41 goals in 47 games across all competitions to help the team advance from the National League through the play-offs.

Langstaff’s ability to maintain his level of play in League Two was questioned, but he has proven his mettle and is once again one of the best shooters in English football this season.

In January, Langstaff reportedly attracted interest from Birmingham City, Sunderland, Peterborough United, Derby County, Wrexham, and Hearts. Although he stayed at Meadow Lane, Notts may struggle to hold onto him this summer after losing out on the play-offs due to a disappointing second half of the season under Stuart Maynard.

Wednesday may encounter difficulties because the Magpies are rumored to have demanded £1.5 million for Langstaff in January. However, Chansiri will have to make an investment if the team is to acquire a proven goal scorer this summer.

Langstaff would be a risk for the Owls, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him succeed in the Championship or League One considering how smoothly he transitioned to League Two this season.

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