Cardiff City player on Sheffield Wednesday's transfer radar following play-off final victory | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday's two-year exile from the Championship ended in dramatic fashion at Wembley on Monday when a Josh Windass header in the final moments of extra time in the League One play-off final against Barnsley got the Owls over the line against their South Yorkshire rivals.

And according to Sunday Mirror Sports Editor Darren Witcoop, the Owls are already looking at transfer business for their second tier return and are eyeing up a reunion with Cardiff City centre-back Mark McGuinness.

Wednesday signed McGuinness on loan from the Bluebirds back in August with his chances at the Cardiff City Stadium under then-manager Steve Morison set to be limited, and in his 17 League One appearances he was involved in just one defeat and 11 victories.

Struggling at the wrong end of the Championship table though in January, Cardiff opted to exercise their recall clause on the Republic of Ireland youth international to add him back into their squad for the remainder of the campaign.

How did Mark McGuinness do with Cardiff after his loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday ended?

McGuinness had a new manager in the form of Sabri Lamouchi, and under the Frenchman he was an ever-present in the starting line-up, as well as the couple of matches before his arrival under a caretaker boss.

Cardiff won six times on their way to survival in the second tier and McGuinness played in all 19 matches he was available for, and whilst he only was a part of keeping just three clean sheets there were improved performances from the 2021-22 season.

He formed a back three alongside Cedric Kipre and Perry Ng for the most part and Cardiff will perhaps be keen to keep that trio together, although Kipre was only on loan from West Brom and they'd have to sign him on a permanent basis.

Would Mark McGuinness be a good signing for Sheffield Wednesday?

Two of Wednesday's four central defensive options in their play-off final win over Barnsley were loanees in the form of Reece James and Aden Flint, and there's no guarantee either return on a permanent basis.

Add Ben Heneghan being injured for most of the season to the mix and Moore needs to add to his options at the back - perhaps with more than one defender.

McGuinness at the age of 22 quite clearly still has bits to learn, but overall he had a good 2022-23 with different challenges in two different teams, and you'd say normally he'd be worth a few million pounds.

However, with just one year left on his contract at Cardiff, they could have to sell for lower than they anticipated and especially if he pushes to move to Wednesday - a club that he clearly had a very good time at for a few months - and he'd definitely be a good first signing for the Owls if they can get it over the line.