Exclusive: Don Goodman raises Ike Ugbo transfer "issue" Sheffield Wednesday may face | OneFootball

Don Goodman believes Sheffield Wednesday will have difficulties offloading Ike Ugbo.

While this season has threatened to promise so much for Sheffield Wednesday at times, their campaign has petered out a little in recent weeks.

The Owls had spent several months in and around the fringes of the play-offs, with the hope of claiming a spot in the second tier’s post-season for the first time since 2017. However, a poor run of recent results has consigned them to a mid-table finish.

That still represents progress for the South Yorkshire outfit, who look set to steadily improve on their 23/24 finish, despite not possessing the same level of firepower or resources as some of the other clubs in the division.

However, despite a generally positive season for the club on the pitch, there are several signings from last summer who unfortunately haven’t worked out, and perhaps none more so than Ike Ugbo.

The striker moved to Hillsborough for £2.5m, but has desperately struggled to find his feet this term.

Don Goodman believes Wednesday may struggle to move Ugbo on

When Ugbo turned his loan move from French outfit Troyes into a permanent one, expectations were high for the 26-year-old. However, those expectations simply haven’t been met.

The Canadian international enjoyed a positive loan spell in SW6 last term, notching seven goals and one assist from 18 Championship appearances. That stint was enough to convince the Owls to splash out on £2.5m for his signature, but with his struggles so far, he hasn’t even come close to justifying that fee.

As ever when an expensive signing flops at a new club, there is already talk about whether Wednesday may be able to move Ugbo on to a new club this summer.

However, EFL pundit Don Goodman believes that may be easier said than done, considering the finances involved in the deal to bring him to the club.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman said: “Ugbo has really struggled to hit the heights. It’s a shame because, when he was on loan there at the back end of the season before, he did really well.

“I think the problem is, and we’ve seen this time and again when a player comes in for reasonably big money, I would assume that he will be on a reasonably big salary, and he hasn’t done well this season.

“The issue for Sheffield Wednesday in trying to move him on is that they will want a fee, and who is going to be willing to pay money for a striker who is having a massive struggle at the moment? And then they would also need someone who could match the salary that he is currently on at Wednesday.

“I’m not so sure they’ll have much choice but to keep him at the club and try and re-discover the player that he was at the end of last season.”

Ugbo has been an expensive mistake for Wednesday

Given the form that he has displayed this season, Wednesday must surely be regretting their decision to take Ugbo on a permanent basis.

The Canadian has badly struggled in front goal and he has also now fallen heavily out of favour with Danny Rohl, who has consigned him to predominantly limited minutes from the substitutes’ bench in recent months.

Given the awkward circumstances that are created at times by chairman and owner Dejphon Chansiri, a £2.5m outlay could be a particularly costly error for a club like Wednesday, who are not always strongly backed by their board.

As Goodman suggests, the Owls will also have concerns over the salary that Ugbo is eating up. According to estimates from Capology, the attacker is joint-second in terms of the highest earners at the club.

Wednesday are now likely to be faced with a decision as to whether they back Ugbo to turn his fortunes around, or whether they attempt to recoup some of their outlay for him and look to offload him from their wage bill.

However, with clubs unlikely to be queuing up to sign a player who has endured such a difficult season, Wednesday may ultimately have their hand forced.