"I don't think" - Carlton Palmer urges Sheffield Wednesday against Tottenham transfer | OneFootball

Alfie Devine has been linked with a move to Hillsborough, but Carlton Palmer believes different options are needed.

Former England and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, Carlton Palmer, has urged his former club to avoid the loan signing of Alfie Devine, 20, from Tottenham Hotspur, with other areas of the midfield needing improvements first.

Wednesday were beaten 4-0 at the Stadium of Light by Sunderland on Sunday, after securing their own four-goal victory in the opening weekend of the season against Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough.

However, despite the high scoreline in their first game of the campaign, Sheffield Wednesday still had room to be better, particularly in the middle of the park.

It showed against the Black Cats that although Danny Röhl has made this team a force to be reckoned with at times, there are still points when they do struggle and against strong opposition they can be punished.

According to Alan Nixon, the Owls have taken an interest in Devine, amid news that both themselves and Hull City are likely to miss out on Bayer Leverkusen’s Gustavo Puerta, with Danish club Brondby having a £3 million bid accepted by the German champions. But, Devine may not be the correct choice to plug any gaps in the middle of the park.

Devine is Championship quality but not the right fit

The 20-year-old played 35 games for both Port Vale and Plymouth last season, starting the campaign in League One before he was sent to Argyle in January.

He impressed greatly with both teams, and it is not a surprise that he is being chased by Sheffield Wednesday, but they may need to find a player that can play more defensively instead.

Speaking to FLW, Carlton Palmer believes that the Owls need to make improvements in midfield, despite their great season opener: "Devine went on loan to Port Vale last season and did really well and that prompted Plymouth to take him at Christmas, and he played an integral part towards the end of the season, playing 15 games, assisting two goals.

"Plymouth eventually stayed up, and it was interesting to see that Port Vale then got relegated after he didn't go back there. His performances have given a lot of Championship clubs something to think about.

"One issue with Sheffield Wednesday is the midfield. I thought Plymouth are not going to be one of the strongest sides in the division, so I thought the result was always going to be a positive one for Wednesday."

Wednesday's frailties were exposed by Sunderland

It is not too often that a team that has played just two games sits on a goal difference of zero after winning 4-0 in their first fixture, but, Sheffield Wednesday were put to the sword against Sunderland.

Despite having a similar amount of possession and passes, it was being caught on the break that cost Röhl's in the north-east.

Sunderland managed the game extremely well, and pushed Barry Bannan out of the game, an issue that could arise once again if Devine makes the switch.

Instead, Palmer has said that signing a holding midfielder should be the priority in the remaining days of the transfer window: "They got absolutely torn apart in midfield, they man-marked Bannan, and they just got overrun in midfield.

"But what I think he needs is a strong holding midfield player who's going to sit in there and let the flair players have the space that they can go and play.

"I don't think they're going to get away with playing that kind of diamond shape with Josh Windass and Bannan in there against the better sides, they need to be a bit more solid. So, I don't think that Alfie Devine is the answer for Wednesday.

"I think he's a good young player, but I think they need a holding number six, that's strong, who can sit in there and give the flair players the space to go and play."