Sheffield Wednesday: Dejphon Chansiri may be regretting £3m outlay on Bristol City evidence - View | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday striker Ike Ugbo has struggled to make an impact since returning to the club on a permanent basis this summer.

Sheffield Wednesday picked up their first away point of the season as they drew 0-0 against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Wednesday night.

It had been a tough few weeks for Wednesday as they went five league games without a win, but they followed up their impressive 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion with a battling away draw against Bristol City.

The Robins dominated much of the game, and James Beadle was forced into a number of strong saves to deny Anis Mehmeti, Joe Williams and Mark Sykes, while he also reacted well to prevent an own goal from Marvin Johnson.

The Owls' best chance came in the closing stages of the game when substitute Michael Smith's header was comfortably saved by Max O'Leary, but although they were unable to find a winner, they held on for a solid point.

Wednesday manager Danny Rohl admitted post-match that he "will not jump in the air and say what a fantastic game", but he was pleased that his side "did what we had to do", and he described it as "a good step".

The Owls currently sit 19th in the Championship table, one point above the relegation zone, and they are back in action when they make the trip to face Coventry City at the CBS Arena on Saturday.

Rohl was happy with Wednesday's defensive organisation against Bristol City, but he would undoubtedly have been disappointed by the lack of attacking threat, and the performance of striker Ike Ugbo will be a concern for the German.

Sheffield Wednesday may have made an expensive Ike Ugbo mistake

Ugbo initially joined the Owls on loan from French side Troyes in January, and he scored seven goals and provided one assist in 19 appearances in the second half of last season to help Rohl's men to survival.

Despite facing strong competition for Ugbo's signature from Stoke City, Birmingham CityQueens Park Rangers and Sunderland this summer, Wednesday did eventually complete a deal to bring the 26-year-old back to Hillsborough on a permanent basis in August for a reported fee in the region of £3 million.

It is fair to say that without Ugbo's goals last season, the Owls would no longer be a Championship club, so it is easy to see why Rohl was so keen to re-sign him, but eyebrows were raised at the transfer fee paid, particularly given owner Dejphon Chansiri's reluctance to invest in recent years.

Chansiri cannot be accused of not backing Rohl in the transfer market this summer, but Ugbo has struggled to make an impact since returning to South Yorkshire on a full-time basis, and the owner may be starting to have regrets about spending such a large proportion of the budget on the Canada international.

Ugbo has scored just once in nine appearances this season, with his only goal coming in the 5-1 win at Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup in August, and in truth, he has not come close to finding the back of the net in the league, which will be alarming for Rohl.

The striker was substituted in the 73rd minute against Bristol City after an ineffective performance, and his replacement Smith arguably contributed more in his brief time on the pitch.

As previously mentioned, Smith had Wednesday's best chance of the game when he headed straight at O'Leary late on, and the 32-year-old gave his side a different attacking dimension, causing problems for a Robins defence that had previously had a comfortable evening.

Smith looked to be heading out of Hillsborough this summer, with League One promotion hopefuls Wrexham said to have been among a number of EFL clubs interested in him, but he has impressed with his performances in the early stages of the season, and while he does have limitations to his game, it would be no surprise to see him start at Coventry on Saturday.

There were potential warning signs for the Owls about signing Ugbo permanently after he scored just once in the final two months of last season, but they still went ahead with the deal, and his poor form has continued into the new campaign.

In Ugbo's defence, he is not the only Wednesday striker to underperform this season, and with the club's wingers - Anthony Musaba, Djeidi Gassama, Olaf Kobacki and Josh Windass - all failing to perform consistently, he has not been provided with the service needed to be among the goals regularly.

Ugbo does have credit in the bank with Owls supporters after the key role he played in keeping the club in the division last season, but his lack of goals is becoming increasingly worrying, and Chansiri will be fearing that he has made a costly mistake in spending a significant transfer fee on the striker.