Revealed: How much Sheffield Wednesday paid in agents fees this season | 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, but 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, and while performances and results have improved significantly under Danny Rohl, the club remain in a precarious position, with time running out to secure survival.

In addition to their struggles on the pitch, it has also been a turbulent season off the pitch for the Owls, with protests increasing against owner Dejphon Chansiri in recent months, and a lack of investment has been one of the main reasons for the frustration of supporters.

16 new players have arrived at Hillsborough over the course of the campaign, but the vast majority of those have been loans or free transfers.

The amount Championship clubs have spent on agents fees this season was revealed last week, and we looked at how Wednesday compare to their second tier rivals.

Sheffield Wednesday's spending on agents in the 2023-24 season

Wednesday were the second-lowest spenders on agents in the Championship this season at just £508,562, with only bottom side Rotherham United, who have already been relegated, spending less (£440,671).

The Owls' fellow newly-promoted side Plymouth Argyle were the third-lowest spenders at £586,849, followed by Millwall (£682,948), Blackburn Rovers (£893,589) and Bristol City (£896,854).

Wednesday's spending is significantly less than those at the top of the list, with the three clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, Leeds United (£13,287,784), Leicester City (£8,113,789) and Southampton (£7,535,386) making up the top three, while Watford (£4,693,267), Norwich City (£4,276,648) and West Bromwich Albion (£2,175,545) were among the other big spenders.

Some may commend the Owls for their lack of spending on agents, but unfortunately, it seems to be a necessary part of modern football, and it is no surprise that the two clubs who have spent the least are the current bottom two in the Championship.

Even some of Wednesday's relegation rivals, such as Birmingham City (£1,115,393) and Huddersfield Town (£1,151,163), have spent over double what the Owls did on agents, underlining how costly Chansiri's unwillingness to invest could be for the club.

Of course, spending is no guarantee of success, and Ipswich Town currently sit top of the Championship having spent just £1,263,523 on agents this season, but with agents playing such a key role in recruitment, it may be an area in need of addressing at Hillsborough this summer.

With a host of key players such as Barry Bannan and Josh Windass out of contract, and the prospect of a big rebuild, negotiating with agents is likely to be a big part of Chansiri's work over the coming months.

Regardless of which division Wednesday are in, Chansiri will need to increase his spending both on agents and transfer fees in order to deliver a team that is significantly more competitive next season.

Sunderland, the German could be tempted to move on if he does not receive backing from Chansiri.