"Frustrating" - Sheffield Wednesday urged to take firm stance on Wrexham target | OneFootball

FLW spoke to our resident Sheffield Wednesday pundit about Wrexham reigniting their interest in Micahel Smith.

Wrexham have reportedly rekindled their interest in Sheffield Wednesday's Michael Smith and seem set to test the Owls' resolve later this month.

That is according to a fresh report from the Sheffield Star, who claim that the Red Dragons are keen on signing the 33-year-old this January.

The striker has been at Hillsborough since 2022 and has found the back of the net on 29 occasions for Wednesday. This season he has been particularly useful, with his five goals and four assists going some way to helping them be in and around the play-off picture.

However, the Hollywood lights of the Racecourse Ground shine brightly and the opportunity to secure his future before his contract with the Owls expires this summer might persuade him to make the move to North Wales.

Sheffield Wednesday pundit desperate to retain Smith

To get a Hillsborough point of view on the potential departure of Smith, Football League World spoke to their resident Owls pundit, Patrick McKenna, who detailed his keenness to retain Smith this window.

"Unfortunately, we aren't in a strong position with regards to this," said McKenna.

"Ideally, we would be looking to sell a 33-year-old player whom we got in on a free. Even if it was only a few hundred thousand pounds, it would be good to get a profit on a player and say, 'Yeah, let’s offload Smith and bring in a replacement.'

"However, especially in this January transfer window, there is no guarantee that you will get a replacement. Selling Smith and not getting a replacement would put us in a weaker position.

"I don't think anybody would have foreseen how vital Michael Smith would be to us this season. He has been one of our main contributors with goals and assists. It was maybe expected that he would play a more peripheral role and Ike Ugbo would be stepping up to the plate with the goals.

"So, from a playing point of view, losing the option of Smith would weaken us, and it is a case of needing to strengthen.

"Although we run the risk of losing him for free in the summer, I wouldn't be looking to sell him right now. That's not an ideal situation, as selling him now would be seen as a good bit of business.

"You can take a positive from it, but it is not a positive situation for us, and it is kind of the reality of where we are. It's frustrating, but we have to be pragmatic.

"If I were to guess, I would say Danny Rohl won't want to sell Smith before we get a replacement in."

Danny Rohl needs a strict stance for Smith

As detailed by McKenna, selling Smith to Wrexham is a deal that just doesn't make sense without an addition.

The Red Dragons have largely had their own way moving up the divisions, able to handpick players they want to join their project. However, with their budget beginning to level out in the higher tiers, clubs will be more opposed to selling to them and Wednesday need to follow this guide.

Smith has so far featured in almost half of the Owls' league minutes and his minutes per contribution record suggests he can continue to be a threat in the second half of the season.

Rohl should want this threat to remain at Hillsborough, and they would be best placed to retain the 33-year-old before potentially offering him a new contract in the summer.