Sheffield Wednesday: Impressive Danny Rohl pulling power underlined by these transfer developments - View | OneFootball

The appeal of manager Danny Rohl has been clear in some of Sheffield Wednesday's early summer transfer deals.

It has been a busy start to the transfer window for Sheffield Wednesday after they secured survival in the Championship.

The Owls looked destined to make an immediate return to League One after a disastrous start to last season under Xisco Munoz, but they achieved safety following a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl as they finished 20th in the table.

There were fears among Wednesday supporters that the club could lose Rohl this summer, but the German signed a new long-term contract in May, and he has wasted no time in getting to work on rebuilding his squad.

Ciaran Brennan, Reece James, George Byers, Tyreeq Bakinson, Juan Delgado and Lee Gregory have been released at the end of their contracts, and Cameron Dawson and Will Vaulks have departed after rejecting new deals.

Liam Palmer, Dominic Iorfa, Barry Bannan and Josh Windass have all signed new contracts, and the Owls have brought in seven new signings so far this summer, with James Beadle, Ben Hamer, Max Lowe, Yan Valery, Svante Ingelsson, Olaf Kobacki and Jamal Lowe arriving at Hillsborough.

The early transfer activity has generated plenty of optimism that Wednesday could be set for a much-improved season in the year ahead, and Rohl has been key to helping the club seal some impressive deals, particularly those for Windass and Kobacki.

Danny Rohl influence is clear in Josh Windass and Olaf Kobacki deals

Forward Windass joined Wednesday from Wigan Athletic in January 2020, and he has been a crucial player for the club over the last four-and-a-half years.

Windass wrote his name into Wednesday history when he scored a 123rd-minute winner against Barnsley in the League One play-off final at Wembley last May to seal promotion, and he played an important role for the club in the Championship last season.

The 30-year-old scored seven goals and provided two assists in 28 appearances in an injury-disrupted season, and he once again stepped up when his team needed him as he netted three goals in the last three games of the campaign to help secure survival.

Windass' contract at Hillsborough was due to expire this summer, and after initial confidence that he was close to signing a new deal, talks then stalled, with The Star claiming it was "increasingly unlikely" he would remain at the club.

The forward was attracting interest from the likes of Derby County, Stoke City, Coventry City, Hull City and Birmingham City, and West Bromwich Albion made contact with his representatives to assess whether he would be interested in a move to The Hawthorns, but after a late push from the Owls and Rohl, he committed his future to the club this week.

West Brom, Hull and Coventry all finished between fifth and ninth in the Championship last season, and the trio are expected to be in promotion contention once again next term, so they would surely have been appealing options for Windass.

While Birmingham are now in League One, the Blues are set to back new manager Chris Davies with a £20 million budget this summer, so they could have offered him a lucrative financial package.

It is a big coup for Wednesday to tie Windass down to an extension with such significant interest from elsewhere, and the part Rohl played in the deal was underlined by Windass taking to social media to thank his manager for his involvement.

Rohl's pulling power was also shown by the signing of Arka Gdynia winger Olaf Kobacki, who signed a four-year contract at Hillsborough on Wednesday.

Kobacki scored 16 goals and provided seven assists in 37 appearances for the Polish second division outfit last season as they missed out on promotion, and Derby County and Norwich City reportedly made offers for the 22-year-old, but Wednesday won the race for his signature.

While the Owls may be expected to be a more attractive proposition than newly-promoted Derby, Norwich finished sixth in the Championship last season and they have vast financial resources, so it is a huge statement of intent from the club to beat the Canaries to the signing of Kobacki.

Wednesday are not done in the transfer market yet, and they are expected to complete the signing of former Manchester United striker Charlie McNeill, with Rohl again said to be central to the deal.

McNeill was reportedly on the radar of Lazio, Torino, LA Galaxy and Toronto, but he is said to believe that working with Rohl "will help with his long-term development".