What Sheffield Wednesday's Nico Schulz u-turn could mean for Lee Gregory and Newcastle United man

The Owls made the decision not to pursue the signing of Germany international Nico Schulz after the free agent former Borussia Dortmund man spent time training with the club at Middlewood Road last month. Schulz's potential transfer sparked passionate debate among the Wednesday fan base after he was instructed to pay six-figure damages to charities having faced charges pertaining to domestic abuse.

Two Wednesday players - Lee Gregory and Newcastle United loanee Jeff Hendrick - were left off the club's 25-man EFL Registration List along with injured utility man Callum Paterson as manager Danny Röhl sought to leave space open for the possibility of free agent additions.

The German coach previously told The Star he had a cut-off point in mind as to when a decision would be made to end their search for available new faces, with concerns over the time it would take to get them up to speed particularly given they wouldn't have had full-time involvement in football for some time.

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With the side on an excellent run and with Schulz now ruled out as a possibility, the search appears to be nearing an end, though the door has been left ajar should the squad receive unforeseen injury or availability issues. It furthers the likelihood that Gregory and or Hendrick will be registered to the squad before the deadline of the 5pm March 28 deadline. Paterson is a likely addition, with strides having been made in his comeback from knee surgery. It is hoped he will be able to make a return to training this month.

"At the moment there is nobody more," Röhl told The Star last week. "We will come to a point in the next weeks where it does not work. To bring a new person in with only a few weeks, they would have to adapt to the philosophy and style of football. It would be more and more difficult for them to be on the same page and in the same direction. My players have a high credit from my side; they are fighting, they are mentally strong. It is good to see.

"In this situation, to get a player to come in and make an impact, it is difficult. At the moment there are no other players in the market. If something happens then OK but at the moment I am not really convinced that there are any more players to come in."