Opinion: Parting ways with key figure could seriously harm Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion hopes | OneFootball

After suffering relegation on the final day of the 2020/21 season, it was always going to be intriguing to see how Sheffield Wednesday would fare during the opening stages of the current campaign.

Owls manager Darren Moore opted to launch a complete overhaul of his squad in the summer transfer window as he drafted in a host of fresh faces.

Moore was also able to convince one of the club’s key players to stay at Hillsborough as Josh Windass opted to sign a new contract in August which is set to keep him at Wednesday until 2023.

The 27-year-old would have been hoping to feature regularly in the third-tier in recent months.

However, Windass has missed a considerable chunk of the campaign after sustaining a serious hamstring injury in pre-season.

Whilst Windass was on the road to recovery from this issue, Wednesday’s progress in League One was hindered by their tendency to draw games at this level.

scoring the winner against Milton Keynes Dons last month.

Having recorded impressive WhoScored match ratings of 8.46 and 7.65 in these fixtures, it is hardly a surprise that the former Rangers man has now emerged as a potential target for a host of Championship sides.

Football League World earlier today, Windass is currently attracting interest from Stoke City, Hull City, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion ahead of the January transfer window.

15 direct goal contributions at this level last season.

1 of 30

What year was Steven Fletcher born?

1986 1987 1988 1989

If one of these aforementioned sides decide to submit a bid for Windass, the Owls must opt against selling him as losing the attacking midfielder at this stage of the campaign could have a negative impact on their hopes of achieving promotion.

Although Wednesday could receive a sizeable fee for their talisman, there is no guarantee that they will be able to draft in a sufficient replacement for him next month.

Providing that Windass is able to maintain his fitness as well as his form over the course of the coming months, he could play a major role in helping his side secure an immediate return to the Championship as he has already illustrated just how deadly he can be in-front of goal at this level.

Currently seventh in the League One standings, Wednesday are only five points adrift of the automatic promotion places and thus will fancy their chances of closing this gap with Windass in their side.