New Sheffield Wednesday boss will be thankful of Xisco Munoz's restraint over free agent signing: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

We don't yet know who will take charge of Sheffield Wednesday's next Championship game - against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday 21st October - but it sounds as though it will be their next permanent boss rather than caretaker Neil Thompson.

Xisco Munoz's ill-fated spell at Hillsborough came to an end earlier this month as Dejphon Chansiri relieved him of his duties after winning just one of his 12 games in charge and none in the Championship - a start that sees the Owls rooted to the bottom of the table as things stand.

It looks increasingly likely that Danny Röhl will be his replacement. The 34-year-old former Southampton, Bayern Munich, and Germany assistant coach is said to have interviewed for the job after Darren Moore's departure in the summer and reports suggest he is the frontrunner as the process moves towards its completion.

In what will be Röhl's first job in management, the German looks to have his work cut out for him as he tries to ensure that Wednesday's stay in the Championship lasts more than just one season.

That task will be a struggle for whoever is appointed, whether it's the current frontrunner or someone else, as the Owls have looked comfortably the worst side in the division in 2023/24.

Xisco's successor will need to quickly clean up the mess that the Spanish coach and Chansiri have created since the promotion and Moore's departure but they will at least be thankful of their restraint when it comes to free agent Lyle Taylor.

What is the latest with Lyle Taylor and Sheffield Wednesday?

Taylor has been a free agent since his contract at Nottingham Forest expired over the summer and in September, the Sheffield Star revealed that he was training with Wednesday with a view to potentially signing for them.

But they didn't end up pulling the trigger. Xisco indicated ahead of his departure that though Taylor was no longer training with the Owls, they could still sign the free agent forward but such a move never happened, which Röhl - or whoever else takes charge - will be thankful for.

Why will the new Sheffield Wednesday boss be happy that Lyle Taylor hasn't signed for Sheffield Wednesday?

Wednesday have one spot remaining in the 25-strong squad registered with the EFL for the first half of the Championship season.

Signing Taylor and registering him would have left the new boss, whoever that is, without any flexibility when it comes to the squad as their next chance to make alterations would have been in January.

The reason that's particularly important from a Wednesday perspective is that there are two players currently not registered - Marvin Johnson and Momo Diaby.

Johnson was a vital player as the Owls were promoted last term, finishing the 2022/23 campaign with three goals and 14 assists, but was outcast by Munoz and not registered even after a loan move to Derby County fell through.

He has hinted he could be back involved with the first team soon via Instagram but would not have been able to play a game before January had Taylor been signed and registered.

Diaby, meanwhile, signed on loan from Portimonense and had impressed before suffering an injury. His return date is unclear at this point but if that comes before the start of 2024 then he will need to be registered to feature in the Championship.

Whoever the new coach at the helm is will want to run the rule over the squad and decide whether Johnson, Diaby (if fit soon enough), Taylor, or another free agent will be the best candidate to take that 25th spot.