Macaulay Langstaff signs: 3 dreamy yet realistic Sheffield Wednesday transfers the club could make this summer | OneFootball

It has been a tough first season back in the Championship for Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls were promoted from League One last season after beating Barnsley in the play-off final at Wembley in May, and they are in danger of making an immediate return to the third tier.

Wednesday made their worst start to a season in their history, resulting in the sacking of Xisco Munoz in October, but performances and results have improved significantly under Danny Rohl.

Rohl has done an outstanding job at Hillsborough to give his side a chance of survival, but they remain in a precarious position, and their fate will be decided on the final day.

With owner Dejphon Chansiri seemingly unwilling to invest in the transfer market, most of the Owls' signings this season have been loans or free transfers, and while some have been a success, there have been a number of failures.

Whichever division Wednesday are in next season, Rohl will be facing a big rebuilding job in the summer, particularly with 19 players out of contract, including key men such as Barry Bannan and Josh Windass.

With that in mind, we looked at three ambitious yet realistic signings Wednesday could target this summer.

Kwame Poku

With uncertainty over whether Wednesday will be able to sign Ian Poveda permanently from Leeds United this summer, Rohl will likely need to bring in at least one new winger.

One player he could target is Peterborough United winger Poku, who has enjoyed another outstanding season in League One this campaign.

Poku scored six goals and provided 12 assists in 44 appearances in all competitions for Posh last season, including netting against the Owls in the play-offs, but he has significantly improved his goal return this term.

The 22-year-old's form has not gone unnoticed, and according to TEAMtalk, Ipswich Town, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion, Millwall, Stoke City and Bristol City were all keeping tabs on him ahead of the January transfer window.

Poku will have no shortage of suitors this summer, and while they would face competition for his signature, Wednesday should certainly join the race.

Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony is known to be a tough negotiator, but as he proved with the sale of Ephron Mason-Clark to Coventry City in January, he will allow his stars to leave for the right price, and as a player with huge talent and plenty of room for further development, Poku would be a shrewd investment for the Owls.

Tom Cannon

Wednesday were first keen on striker Cannon last January, but he instead joined Preston North End on loan from Everton.

After Cannon scored eight goals and registered one assist in 21 games during his temporary spell at Deepdale, the Owls reignited their interest in the summer, but they once again missed out on his signature, with Leicester City completing a £7.5 million deal in September.

Injury prevented Cannon from making his debut for the Foxes until December, but after he scored three goals in two games against Huddersfield Town and Millwall in early January, it looked like he was finding his feet at the club.

However, Cannon's game time has been limited since then, with Jamie Vardy, Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho featuring ahead of him, and manager Enzo Maresca admitted earlier this month that his situation was "sad".

"I feel the same as I did with Daka at the start of the season. It's a shame. It's sad, because he trains fantastic every day. At any other club he could play and score many goals, but because we have so many strikers at the club I need to make a decision," Maresca told BBC Radio Leicester.

Given Cannon's lack of minutes in recent months, it seems highly unlikely that he will be a regular in the Premier League next season, and his long-term future at the King Power Stadium is uncertain.

If Cannon does become available this summer, he would attract plenty of Championship interest, and Wednesday would need to stay in the second tier to have any chance of signing him.

Finances could also be a problem for the Owls, and they would likely only be able to afford a loan deal, but Cannon is the type of statement signing the club need to make this summer in order to convince Rohl to stay.

With pace and the ability to press, Cannon would fit perfectly into Rohl's style of play, and he could be the prolific goalscorer that Wednesday have been missing.

Macaulay Langstaff

With Ike Ugbo and Ashley Fletcher's loans expiring, and Michael Smith and Lee Gregory both likely to depart, Wednesday will need to bring in more than one striker this summer.

Langstaff joined Notts County from Gateshead in the summer of 2022, and he enjoyed an outstanding first year at the club last season, scoring 41 goals in 47 games in all competitions to help the Magpies to promotion from the National League via the play-offs.

There were question marks over whether Langstaff could replicate his form in League Two, but he has silenced the doubters, and he is once again among the leading marksmen in English football this season.

According to HITC, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Peterborough United, Derby County, Wrexham and Hearts were all keen on Langstaff in January, and while he remained at Meadow Lane, Notts could find it tough to keep hold of him this summer after missing out on the play-offs following a disappointing second half of the season under Stuart Maynard.

The Magpies were said to be demanding £1.5 million for Langstaff in January, and that could prove to be a stumbling block for Wednesday, but if the club are to bring in a proven goalscorer this summer, Chansiri will need to invest.

Langstaff would be a gamble for the Owls, but given the way he has seamlessly made the step up to League Two this season, it would be no surprise to see him thrive in the Championship or League One.