Ike Ugbo Sheffield Wednesday return 'not unlikely' amid interest from Championship rivals

Sheffield Wednesday could still welcome Ike Ugbo back this summer with recent reports suggesting a return ‘isn’t unlikely’ - although the Owls look set to face competition from their Championship rivals.

Despite only joining on loan in January, Ugbo finished last season as Wednesday’s joint-top scorer alongside Anthony Musaba, with seven goals in 18 Championship appearances. That tally was a major contributing factor to Danny Rohl’s side retaining their place in the second-tier, with nine of their 15 wins coming after his arrival from Troyes on January 11.

A return to parent club Troyes will only be temporary, if at all, with the French side’s relegation out of Ligue 2 last season making it financially unfeasible to keep Ugbo. It is widely expected that the 25-year-old will be back in England next season and The Athletic insists a permanent move to Hillsborough is not off the cards.

Wednesday will prioritise attacking reinforcements this summer, with last season’s total of 44 Championship goals only better than rock-bottom Rotherham. Recent reports have suggested that owner Dejphon Chansiri has already put aside a large portion of the transfer budget - between £1-1.5million - to sign a leading man.

But a move for Ugbo will not come easy with the Canadian’s form last season - both at Wednesday and Cardiff City, where he was between August and January - catching the eye of financially superior Championship clubs. The Owls have only been back in the second-tier for one year and so have a small budget, relative to more established sides or teams coming down from the Premier League. There is no mention of who else may be keen on the striker, but the report adds that Ugbo is expected to join a club towards the top end of the table.

Should Wednesday fail in their pursuit of Ugbo, then alternative options will be acted upon and reports over the weekend named Las Palmas frontman Sory Kaba as an alternative. The 29-year-old is free to leave his current club after scoring just once in 17 La Liga appearances, but took more naturally to the Championship during a 2022/23 loan spell at Cardiff in which he netted eight times in 17 games.

There is also thought to be interest from across the Championship in Kaba and so once again, Wednesday will likely be up against it financially. The Owls have already shown an ability to get deals over the line quickly, however, and have already confirmed three summer arrivals.

Last week brought confirmation that Wednesday has agreed an undisclosed fee with French side Angers for full-back Yan Valery, who worked with Rohl at Southampton. The Tunisian will shortly be joined by Ben Hamer and Max Lowe in South Yorkshire, with the pair arriving as free agents once their respective contracts at Watford and Sheffield United expire.

Rohl has been on television screens up and down the country as a pundit for ITV during Euro 2024, but the Wednesday boss enjoyed his last game on Saturday and will now return to Sheffield and prepare to welcome players back for pre-season. The 35-year-old told ITV he expects players to return towards the end of this week for testing.