Big update emerges on whether Danny Rohl will return to Sheffield Wednesday for pre-season | OneFootball

After a summer of speculation over his future, Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is not expected to be present for the start of pre-season.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is not expected to return to the club for the start of pre-season training this week.

That's according to The Star, who claim that sources close to the football side of the club do not expect Rohl to be present when the Wednesday squad return for pre-season training on Thursday, although the report stresses that his absence has not officially been confirmed.

Rohl took charge of the Owls in October 2023 with the club sitting bottom of the Championship table, and after miraculously keeping the club in the division in the 2023-24 campaign, he led them to a respectable 12th-placed finish last season.

However, speculation about Rohl's future first started in December when he was linked with Southampton, and he became embroiled in a bitter public dispute with owner Dejphon Chansiri in the January transfer window after being denied a move to St Mary's.

Rohl is believed to have informed Wednesday of his desire to leave the club back in April, but despite reportedly being considered by a number of English and German clubs this summer, he has so far been unable to secure a new job.

Danny Rohl not expected to return for Sheffield Wednesday pre-season

Rohl has been linked with a host of clubs over the course of the summer, including the likes of Southampton, Leicester City, Middlesbrough, RB Leipzig, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, but his release clause, which is thought to stand at £2 million for Championship sides and as high as £5 million for those outside the second tier, has been a stumbling block for many of his suitors.

The 36-year-old has frequently discussed his potential next move with the German press in recent weeks, recently stating that he is keen to manage in the Bundesliga at the earliest possible opportunity, but his comments do not seem to have convinced clubs to pay the compensation fee needed to get him out of his Hillsborough contract.

Another two doors closed on Rohl on Tuesday as Middlesbrough and RB Leipzig appointed Rob Edwards and Ole Werner as their new head coaches respectively, and while there is still a chance he could be targeted by Leicester when they sack Ruud van Nistelrooy next month, Sean Dyche is thought to be the front-runner to take over at the King Power Stadium.

That means that Rohl officially remains in charge of Wednesday, but despite still being under contract, he is not expected to be present when the first-team squad report back for pre-season training this week, and that could put him on a collision course with Chansiri, who is reportedly preparing to hit him with a hefty fine if he does not return to the club.

With many of Rohl's backroom staff out of contract next week, it is unclear exactly who will be taking charge of the early stages of the Owls' pre-season, but the deals of some of the sports science and medical teams are believed to extend beyond the end of June.

Rohl's failure to return for pre-season would be the latest chapter in what has been a nightmare summer for Wednesday, and after failing to pay the wages of players and staff on time for the second time in three months in May, the club are currently under a transfer embargo and have been hit with a three-window ban on paying transfer fees.

Sheffield Wednesday pre-season reveal offers biggest hint yet on Danny Rohl future

Wednesday's pre-season plans were already in disarray with the renovation work on the training ground incomplete and no friendlies in place, but their chaotic summer would take another turn for the worse if Rohl fails to report back with his squad on Thursday.

Rohl has made no secret of his desire to leave the club, but given that he is still under contract, it would be a bold move for him not to oversee pre-season training, and it would underline the fact that he remains determined to find an escape route from Hillsborough this summer.

As their off-field problems continue, there is a small glimmer of hope for Owls supporters, with Adam Shaw's US-based consortium, former owner Milan Mandaric and John Textor all believed to be weighing up takeover bids for the club, but with the season just over a month away, the South Yorkshire outfit are falling well behind their Championship rivals in their preparations for the new campaign.