Sheffield Wednesday: Dejphon Chansiri can silence critics with Leicester City transfer | OneFootball

The signing of Leicester City striker Tom Cannon could help to ease some of the criticism of Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri.

It has been an excellent season so far for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship, but they are facing a crucial January transfer window.

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Wednesday have made clear progress under Danny Rohl this campaign, and they have emerged as surprise play-off contenders in recent weeks.

The Owls were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by Millwall at Hillsborough on Saturday, but despite that, they remain 10th in the table, just three points from the top six.

With Wednesday in the highest position they have been in for many years, you could be forgiven for thinking that everything at the club is positive right now, but recent comments from Rohl suggest that all may not be well behind the scenes.

Danny Rohl piles pressure on Dejphon Chansiri with cryptic transfer comments

The first indication of potential issues between Rohl and owner Dejphon Chansiri surfaced last month when the German stated that the January transfer window would allow him to see "if we really want to attack or we are just talking".

Those words came as Rohl confirmed he would be remaining at Wednesday following speculation linking him with the Southampton and Hamburg jobs, but if he hoped that his warning would spark Chansiri into action, that does not seem to have been the case.

Speaking after the draw against Millwall on Saturday, Rohl revealed that the Owls are not currently in contact with any other clubs about potential signings, and even more ominously, he suggested that supporters could ask Chansiri themselves about the state of play regarding transfers when he holds a fan forum at Hillsborough next week.

"We need a clear picture of what we can do and which players we want to attack," Rohl told The Star.

"We have 26 days until the end of January. If we can sign players early, if we want to sign players early this is of course helpful because we have three more games in this window. Some players have signed players straight away. We will try. In the next 15 days it will be time for a review, we can make a summary and in a few days the fans can ask a lot of questions if they want."

Rohl is taking a big risk by laying the gauntlet down to Chansiri so publicly, and some may question whether his approach is professional, but as he has the unequivocal backing of the fan base, the 35-year-old knows he is in a strong position.

Chansiri has not been too affected by criticism from supporters in the past, but in this instance, he will be aware that he cannot afford to lose Rohl, and there is one transfer deal he could secure that would at least start to silence some of the doubters.

Tom Cannon deal should be a priority for Sheffield Wednesday in January

Wednesday have scored 38 league goals so far this season, but while finding the back of the net has not necessarily been a problem, the lack of contribution from the club's strikers will be a concern for Rohl, with the likes of Ike Ugbo, Jamal Lowe and Michael Smith all failing to deliver consistently.

The absence of a prolific goalscorer could be costly for the Owls in their pursuit of a play-off place, so it is something that they will no doubt be keen to address this month, and it seems that Leicester City striker Tom Cannon has emerged on their radar once again.

Cannon is currently on loan at Stoke City, but there is a break period in the deal in January which allows other clubs to come in for him, and according to journalist Alan Nixon, Wednesday and Luton Town are both hoping to land his signature.

The 22-year-old has scored an impressive 10 goals and provided one assist in 24 games for the struggling Potters this season, and while four of those goals did come in one game in the 6-1 win over Portsmouth in October, he has undoubtedly proven just how dangerous he can be at Championship level.

Having been linked with the club in previous transfer windows, the Owls are long-term admirers of Cannon, and his arrival would be a huge boost to their hopes of securing an unlikely top six finish.

If Cannon can hit double figures for a Stoke side battling relegation, then he would surely thrive in an upwardly mobile Wednesday team who create plenty of chances, and he would be a huge upgrade on Rohl's existing options in the forward areas.

The problem for the Owls is that Leicester paid £7.5 million for Cannon last summer, so a permanent deal would likely be well out of their price range, and Nixon claims they would need to "put in a massive offer" just to sign the striker on loan.

However, given the figures that would be needed to win the race for Cannon, it represents a big opportunity for Chansiri to show that he is serious about backing Rohl in the transfer market, and it would certainly change the narrative surrounding the under-pressure owner.