The Sheffield Wednesday players who may never put the shirt on again - £20k-a-week star features | OneFootball

We looked at some of the Sheffield Wednesday players who may already have played their final game for the club.

After a nightmare start to the summer, Sheffield Wednesday have plenty of work to do before the new season gets underway.

Wednesday emerged as surprise play-off contenders after a strong start to last season, but their promotion push collapsed in the second half of the campaign amid a host of off-field issues, and they eventually finished 12th in the table.

After failing to pay the wages of players and staff on time in March, the same problem occurred for a second time last month, and both the Owls and owner Dejphon Chansiri have been charged by the EFL, while the club have also been placed under a transfer embargo, which is likely to turn into a three-window ban on paying transfer fees.

In addition to the financial woes, there is also no end in sight to the uncertainty over the future of Wednesday manager Danny Rohl, with the German conducting another interview over the weekend in which he revealed his desire to manage in the Bundesliga at the earliest possible opportunity.

Amid all the chaos, the Owls announced their released and retained list last month, with Akin Famewo, Barry Bannan and Callum Paterson being offered new contracts, while Ben Hamer, Pol Valentin, Michael Ihiekwe, Ryo Hatsuse, Marvin Johnson, Stuart Armstrong and Mallik Wilks will all leave Hillsborough at the end of their current deals.

However, they may not be the only players departing Wednesday this summer, and we looked at some of the others who may already have played their final game for the club.

Olaf Kobacki

Winger Olaf Kobacki joined Wednesday last summer from Polish second division side Arka Gdynia, but he endured a difficult first season at Hillsborough.

Kobacki scored 16 goals and provided seven assists in 37 games for his former club during an impressive 2023-24 campaign, so he looked to be an exciting signing for the Owls, but he has struggled to adapt to the Championship so far.

The 23-year-old made just 15 appearances in all competitions for Wednesday last season, with only six of those coming from the start, and he failed to register a single goal or assist, with the physicality of the second tier often proving to be challenging for him.

In Kobacki's defence, he was plagued by injury throughout the season, which made it difficult for him to properly show what he is capable of or establish himself in the team, but he was unable to make an impact whenever given a chance, so the Owls may decide to cash in on him this summer.

Ike Ugbo

Striker Ike Ugbo initially joined Wednesday on loan from Troyes last January, and he scored seven goals and provided one assist in 19 games during the second half of the 2023-24 season to help keep the club in the Championship.

After such a strong loan spell, the Owls fought hard to bring Ugbo back to Hillsborough on a permanent basis, and they eventually secured his services for £2.5 million, which was the biggest transfer fee Chansiri had paid for almost seven years.

However, Ugbo did not reach anywhere near the same heights last season as he failed to score a single league goal, with his only strike in 38 appearances coming in the 5-1 EFL Cup victory at Grimsby Town all the way back in August.

Rohl passionately defended Ugbo against the criticism he received early on in the season, but it seemed even he ran out of patience with the striker as he handed him just three substitute appearances in the final two months of the campaign, given that the 26-year-old is estimated to be the club's joint-second highest paid player on £20,000-a-week, as per Capology, they may look to offload him.

Charlie McNeill

Like Ugbo, Charlie McNeill was another striker to make the move to Hillsborough last summer, with Wednesday signing him on a free transfer after his release by Manchester United, reportedly beating the likes of Lazio, Torino, LA Galaxy and Toronto to his signature.

McNeill enjoyed a dream start to his Owls career as he scored twice in the 2-1 EFL Cup win at Hull City on his debut in August, but they remain his only two goals for the club, and he made just four substitute appearances in the league all season.

The 21-year-old was a prolific scorer for the Red Devils at academy level, but he scored a combined total of just three goals in 23 appearances during his loan spells with Newport County and Stevenage, suggesting that he may not quite be ready for senior football, and at this stage, Wednesday's gamble on the striker has not worked out.

It was claimed that the Owls were preparing to send McNeill out on loan in January, but while a move did not materialise on that occasion, his temporary exit looks a near certainty this summer.

Bailey Cadamarteri

After an impressive spell in the academy, striker Bailey Cadamarteri was given a chance in the Wednesday first-team in the first half of the 2023-24 season, and he helped to bring fresh energy to a team that was languishing at the bottom of the table.

Cadamarteri's impact faded over the course of the campaign, but he still ended the season with five goals and one assist in 25 appearances, which represented a decent return for his first year of senior football.

Having attracted interest from a host of clubs, Cadamarteri joined Lincoln City on loan last summer, and he scored eight goals in 32 appearances for the Imps last season, but he missed virtually the entire second half of the campaign through injury.

Cadamarteri may not be at the level required to be a regular starter for the Owls in the Championship just yet, but he certainly showed what he is capable of when given a regular run of games at Sincil Bank, and another League One loan could be on the cards for the 20-year-old next season.