Sheffield Wednesday have 'clear mindset' for January transfers - head of recruitment update

The Owls have been without a permanent head of recruitment since the exit of David Downes in June, with Luke Dowling having stepped in to assist the club with their transfer dealings in the summer.

Röhl is understood to be working closely with the club to bring in the right man to take on the position, who it has been stressed must match the German's footballing outlook.

The Star understands that Dean Hughes, who in 2019 was brought in to work alongside Downes as a recruitment analyst and had a hand in the club's summer dealings, has not been actively working at S6 for some time with suggestions he is set to re-join Downes at Blackpool.

The club's remaining analysis team has been working to prepare for the January window, with Röhl having regular meetings both with them and with chairman Dejphon Chansiri to ensure the immediate absence of a head of recruitment does not hamper their efforts to make necessary squad improvements in the new year.

"It is a big topic, we know this and we are still in the process," Röhl said. "It's not all down to one person, we must be strong as a group, as a club. We have a clear idea of what we need to do in the future, it is good to know this. We have had good conversations and good meetings together.

"We know it is not a one-man show, it is always about being strong as a group with people around the club and in the club and we are in a good way."

Asked for an update on the process of hiring a new transfer chief, Röhl's suggestion was that nothing is especially imminent, though talks had been had with prospective candidates. Getting the right figure in, he suggested, was of vital importance.

"We are still in talks," he said. "In my five weeks I am always trying to bring in good guys and also on this topic. We are talking about finding the right man. We will do this and it is also about now starting to looking to some players, looking what we can do and this is down to teamwork."

Röhl said he has had indications from Chansiri as to what parameters the club will be working under come January and that he has clarity on what work he would like to get done to give the Owls the best possible chance of survival in the Championship.

The January window is notoriously difficult for clubs. With Downes in the chair last season they were able to bring in only Aden Flint despite then-manager Darren Moore wanting to add more to his arsenal. Röhl acknowledged the challenge of making mid-season additions. For now, the likes of analysts Richard Stirrup, Liam Bracken and Charlie Green are working behind the scenes to provide possible answers.

Röhl said: "I have a clear mindset about this topic and a clear message of what I want to do and I have prepared this now with my team and my coaches. On the other side I am always looking together with the club to look for the right match and get the right head of recruitment in.

"Now it is about as a team going about doing this together. We have had a head of recruitment, but also there is still teamwork between the manager, recruitment and the club. We have to have all on board with this topic. I will try everything in the next weeks to make sure we prepare well for the January window.

"While we have no head of recruitment here, I will push this topic every single day, for sure. We have had good meetings with the chairman and have a clear process and plan with what we can do and what we cannot do. And on the other hand we are looking for a head of recruitment as well."