Regardless of whether or not Sheffield Wednesday stay in the Championship, and regardless of whether or not Danny Rohl stays, the Owls will have plenty of work to do in the summer transfer market.
At least fifteen players are now scheduled to depart Hillsborough this summer.
All across the pitch, positions will need to be strengthened. Ideally, Rohl stays on board and Wednesday stays up, in which case the German coach will have the means to add some young, eager players who will perfectly fit his style of play.
Centre back is one position that might require further reinforcement this summer.
Three players have their contracts expiring this summer: Di’Shon Bernard, Liam Palmer, and Dominic Iorfa. Of the three, it appears like Bernard may want to go on to greater and better things following an outstanding first campaign with Sheffield Wednesday.
And in the event that it is, it will.
Huddersfield Town star Michael Helik would be perfect for Sheffield Wednesday
Helik is a former student centre back.
He moved to Huddersfield in 2022 from Wednesday’s South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley. Since then, he has made 76 league appearances for the Terriers, with nine goals this season.
The Huddersfield captain and Polish international is a physical presence on the pitch, especially in corners and set pieces where he has scored seven goals with his feet and two goals with his head this season.
Furthermore, Helik has many defensive statistics that are comparable to those of Bernard. He also outperforms Bernard in terms of interceptions and clearances per game this season, even against a poorer Huddersfield Town team that has let up 75 goals as opposed to Sheffield Wednesday’s 65.
In terms of tackles per game, Helik and Bernard are almost equal—Helik has 1.4 and Bernard has 1.5 (numbers from Sofascore).
Helik has already made 157 appearances in the Championship, scoring 17 goals, and earning seven caps for the Polish national team during his career.
The key to a potential Helik raid this summer is Sheffield Wednesday’s continued rise and Huddersfield Town’s relegation.
And given the current state of affairs, that scenario appears to be extremely likely.
The Terriers may need to liquidate some of their assets in order to begin a rebuilding project since Helik is too talented for League One and will undoubtedly attract bidders should Town be demoted.
Even so, it wouldn’t be a cheap move.
The 28-year-old’s contract expires in2025, but his current Transfermarkt valuation is £2.56 million; however, if Huddersfield is about to join League One, that amount may change significantly.
However, according to Salary Sport, Helik makes £8.9k a week at Huddersfield, which doesn’t even place him in the top 10 at Sheffield Wednesday. With a number of players expected to go this summer, there may be space in the pay budget for one or more high-profile additions.
Naturally, a lot relies on Dejphon Chansiri’s summertime workload and willingness to work.
Instead of spending money on players, he might choose to spend it on facilities. He could then comb the free and loan markets once more, knowing that Rohl will undoubtedly be able to extract a performance out of whichever players he has available.
However, Helik would be a tremendous addition to Sheffield Wednesday and a significant improvement over players like Bambo Diaby, who’s been a.
