"Can't see it" - Potential Sheffield Wednesday exit hopes for £20k-a-week man played down | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit discussed Ike Ugbo's future with the club following a nightmare campaign

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sheffield Wednesday will likely find Ike Ugbo's barren run infront of goal throughout the 2024/25 Championship campaign difficult to believe, with the striker enduring a miserable permanent return to Hillsborough after shining on loan last season.

Ugbo first arrived in the blue-and-white quarters of the Steel City midway through 2023/24 on loan from French side Troyes, having spent a mixed spell with Championship rivals Cardiff City.

He enjoyed a blistering impact after linking up with the Owls, though, and his haul of seven goals from just 18 Championship appearances was instrumental in their dramatic eventual survival under Danny Rohl.

Wednesday, unsurprisingly, made little secret of their intent to return the ex-Chelsea academy star on a permanent basis and finally got their wish by agreeing a reported £2.5 million deal with Troyes. This chapter of Ugbo's Wednesday career, however, is currently playing out to represent a real nightmare which has left the Owls fanbase scratching their heads in sheer bewilderment.

Remarkably, the 26-year-old is still yet to open his goalscoring account in the Championship this season, despite making 33 appearances.

15 of those have been starts, but in recent months, Rohl has found it increasingly difficult to persist with Ugbo, who has slipped down the pecking order and has just one EFL Cup goal against Grimsby Town to show for his 37 games in 24/25.

Formerly a fan favourite, and for good reason, there are now many supporters at Hillsborough who would be glad to see the back of the 26-year-old following such a dismal campaign. However, an exit could prove easier said than done.

Potential Sheffield Wednesday, Ike Ugbo exit hopes played down

FLW asked our resident Owls fan pundit, Patrick McKenna, whether he believes Ugbo is a player the club must be considering a sale for this summer and if he actually anticipates any suitors coming in for the misfiring frontman.

In Patrick's view, there are a number of factors which make it difficult to envisage a departure.

Patrick is skeptical about whether any clubs will even want to roll the dice with Ugbo due to his performances this term, leaving the Owls in a potential predicament of having to persist with him once again next time out.

"In the strange case of Ike Ugbo, ideally I would like to be in the position where we could move him on in the summer," Patrick told FLW.

"But unfortunately, in reality, it's not going to happen. The season for him has been nothing short of a disaster, with no league goals or assists.

"In games, he hasn't influenced any he has started or come on as a substitute. It's quite astounding, really, that someone brought in as our main goalscorer has done so poorly.

"I get the impression that, after persisting with him, Danny Rohl has given up on him as such.

"The thing is, if we were to offload him in the summer, he would be sold as a loss. We're not going to recoup the money we spent on him, so with our financial position, I suppose we can't afford to take the hit that would come with it.

"I suppose as well, there are not going to be too many suitors for Ugbo. You have to think what club is going to want to take on a striker in such poor form who doesn't have a habit of offering much outside of goalscoring.

Ike Ugbo's estimated Sheffield Wednesday wage may make sale difficult

Importantly, Ugbo is also estimated by Capology to be collecting a weekly wage of £20,000, which is said to make him one of the joint-second top earners at the club behind Barry Bannan.

It would be fair to say that, if the above information is to be believed, Ugbo most certainly has fallen short of justifying his salary, just as he has with the significant fee that Wednesday appeared to have enough convincing evidence to warrant shelling out.

Ugbo's estimated wage is just another reason why Patrick remains doubtful that the club, should they decide to move him on after only one season, could actually find a buyer for the nine-cap Canada international.

"Estimated wages of £20,000, that would be another hindrance to a move as well," Patrick continued.

" So yeah, I think in an ideal world, we would move Ugbo on, but I can't see it happening at the minute.

"It's going to have to be a case of persisting with him and hoping that maybe with a pre-season in him, next season he can finally get going and get some goals."