Sheffield Wednesday set to beat Wigan Athletic to transfer agreement | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are closing in on a new defensive signing, and they are set to beat Championship competition to his services in the process.

It was revealed earlier on Thursday by Wales Online that the Owls were closing in on a loan deal for Cardiff City centre-back Mark McGuinness, who has been allowed to depart the Bluebirds temporarily after dropping down the pecking order under Steve Morison.

What wasn’t evident at the time though was that a team from Cardiff’s division were also in the race for the Republic of Ireland youth international.

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According to the Sheffield Star, Wigan Athletic have also made their interest in the 21-year-old ex-Arsenal man known, and have been very keen to bring him to the Latics.

However, McGuinness, who made 34 appearances for Cardiff in the second tier last season, has opted to head to Wednesday for the 2022-23 season in a move that should be finalised in the near future.

The Verdict

Sheffield Wednesday seeing off teams from a higher division for the services of a player shouldn’t really be a surprise considering the size of the club in question.

Whilst Wigan may be playing second tier football, Sheffield Wednesday are a sleeping giant of League One and it’s likely that McGuinness will slot straight in there and make an impact under Darren Moore.

McGuinness is perhaps unfortunate to find himself on the sidelines at Cardiff considering he made as many appearances as he did in the 2021-22 season.

But he is on the verge of joining a big, big club and he can potentially put himself in the shop window for next summer with good performances for the Owls.