Sheffield Wednesday: Danny Rohl transfer gamble could spare Dejphon Chansiri blushes | OneFootball

Amid the lack of depth in the Sheffield Wednesday squad, Charlie McNeill is emerging as a potential unlikely star this season.

After his controversial exit from the club this summer, it is fair to say that Danny Rohl departed Sheffield Wednesday with a mixed legacy.

Rohl established hero status among Wednesday supporters after guiding the club to the most unlikely survival in his first year in charge before overseeing a respectable 12th-placed finish in the Championship last season, but his standing at the club was significantly damaged by his long and protracted exit saga.

Having first become embroiled in a bitter dispute with owner Dejphon Chansiri back in January, Rohl was linked with a host of clubs over the summer, and he even publicly expressed his desire to leave on a number of occasions, but his high release clause meant that a move did not materialise.

After a bizarre turn of events that saw Rohl return to Hillsborough to oversee some of the Owls' pre-season programme, the German's departure was finally confirmed just over a week before the start of the new season, leaving many supporters simply feeling relieved that a resolution had been reached.

While it is difficult to argue with the results Rohl delivered on the pitch during his time in charge of Wednesday, his work in the transfer market left a little more to be desired, and striker Charlie McNeill was one signing that, until recently, seemed destined to be a flop.

Sheffield Wednesday looked to have made a mistake with Charlie McNeill deal

Rohl struck gold with the signing of Shea Charles last summer, and the additions of Yan Valery, Max Lowe, Nathaniel Chalobah and Svante Ingelsson can be considered to have been relatively successful, but he also made his fair share of mistakes in the transfer market.

Rohl's decision to approve the signing of Ike Ugbo for a fee of £2.5 million was undoubtedly his most high-profile error, with the striker failing to score a single league goal in the whole of last season, but while nowhere near as costly, his gamble on McNeill also looked to have backfired.

McNeill had a prolific record in the Manchester United academy, but he scored a combined total of just three goals in 23 appearances during loan spells with Stevenage and Newport County in League One and League Two respectively, which raised question marks over whether he was ready to make the step-up to the Championship.

Despite McNeill's lack of goals at senior level, he was believed to have been on the radar of Lazio, Torino, LA Galaxy and Toronto following his departure from Old Trafford last summer, so it looked as though the Owls had completed a coup by landing his signature amid such fierce competition.

If there was excitement among the Wednesday faithful about signing a player of McNeill's potential, it increased even further after he netted twice on his debut in the 2-1 win at Hull City in the EFL Cup, but that was as good as it got for the 21-year-old, who only made six further appearances during the rest of the season, with just one of those coming from the start.

After his underwhelming debut campaign at Hillsborough, Owls supporters could have been forgiven for assuming that McNeill did not have a future at the club, but he could be set to play a bigger role than anyone had expected this season.

Sheffield Wednesday may soon be thankful to Danny Rohl for Charlie McNeill gamble

The well-documented financial crisis at Wednesday this summer has seen the departure of a host of key players, with Chansiri deciding to cash in on star duo Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama for a combined total of just £3 million in a desperate attempt to raise funds, while forwards Josh Windass and Michael Smith had their contracts terminated by mutual consent after handing in their notices.

As a result of the mass exodus, the Owls have lost 41 of their 60 league goals from last season, and with manager Henrik Pedersen unable to strengthen his threadbare squad due to ongoing transfer restrictions, he has been forced to rely on previously out-of-favour strikers to provide a goal threat.

After returning from his loan spell with League One side Lincoln City, Bailey Cadamarteri has arguably been the star performer among the Wednesday frontline so far this season, and he scored an 81st-minute equaliser to help secure his side's first point of the campaign in the 2-2 comeback draw at Wrexham on Saturday.

However, while Cadamarteri grabbed most of the headlines, McNeill also played a starring role after being handed a start by Pedersen against the Red Dragons as he delivered an assist for his fellow striker, and he had a golden chance to seal all three points for the Owls in the final seconds of the game, but he fired straight at Danny Ward.

That moment underlined that McNeill is still a young player who is lacking killer instinct in front of goal, but his performance in North Wales certainly suggests he could be a key player for Wednesday this season, and the fact he remained on the bench in the shock EFL Cup victory over Leeds United in midweek to keep him fresh for the league is a clear indication of his growing status within the squad.

As with many of his team-mates, it would be unfair to expect too much too soon from McNeill, particularly given the challenging circumstances he is working under, but if he continues his development over the coming months, Owls supporters may soon be grateful to Rohl for taking a chance on the ex-Man United man last summer.