The summer transfer window has now come to a close and on reflection the business that Sheffield Wednesday have done underlines their ambition to improve on last season where they reached the Championship play-off final.
Wednesday concluded their business with the purchase of wide midfielder Adam Reach from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the region of £5M.
The acquisition of Reach is thought to have taken the club summer spending on transfers fees to somewhere around £12M. Compared to some Championship teams like Newcastle and Aston Villa that amount is something of a drop in the ocean due to the advantages they have from dropping out of the Premier League with parachute payments but many other clubs in the division will be envious of that spending capability. It is also a far cry from transfer windows in the not so distant past where Owls fans would wish away the window as soon as possible as there was always a chance that key players would be sold rather than brought in.
Last season Wednesday had a good team but not great squad depth. This summer has seen them bring in key players like Reach, Almen Abdi, David Jones and Steven Fletcher, plus the return of Daniel Pudil and all will be expected to challenge for a place in the starting 11. Further additions in the form of Vincent Sasso, Will Buckley and Jake Kean and much needed strength in depth to the squad.
As well as the new signings there has also been the boost of influential players such as Westwood, Lee, Lees and Wallace signing extended deals to remain at Hillsborough.
The one position in which the Owls would have liked to add a further player is left-back and Wednesday did chase a full-back on deadline day to no avail. If Pudil is unavailable then the options come down to probably Helan or Reach playing in their less preferred position.
The only key first team player to depart over the summer was Alex Lopez as he returned to Spain following the end of his loan but in Abdi and Jones Wednesday have added quality central midfield option. They would perhaps have liked to have moved a few more players on as there are 2 or 3 players on good wages who are unlikely to feature before the winter transfer window comes around.
Although the Owls have got off a slightly disappointing start there is certainly reason to feel optimistic once the new players start to integrate and gel into the attractive, successful style of play that Carlos Carvalhal developed last season.