Sheffield Wednesday are currently in a tough situation under Garry Monk as they slip further down the table and look like preparing for a huge overhaul of the first-team squad in the summer.

The Owls have seen a lot of high-profile players arrive at the club since the takeover by Dejphon Chansiri as they pursue Premier League football, narrowly missing out on a couple of occasions with Carlos Carvalhal in charge.

Since then, it’s been slowly going downhill as their top six charges gather less and less momentum, with the current campaign being a very short-lasting effort before the turn of the New Year.

The January transfer window saw Garry Monk have his first chance at recruiting new players for his squad since taking charge back in September. Such an opportunity was always bound to throw up some interesting names in the rumour mill, given what Monk needed to improve his squad for the rest of the season and beyond.

Wednesday seem to be in a very precarious financial situation after they were charged by the EFL over their misconduct with regards to the sale of Hillsborough, indicating strongly that they did it to comply with profit and sustainability guidelines.

This has left them walking a financial tightrope, so they have had to ensure the business they attend to in the transfer market is both affordable and effective for the squad.

Here, we take a look at two transfer links for the Owls that were best avoided…

Lee Gregory

The Stoke City striker hasn’t been the same since he left Millwall for the Potters, seeing his goals dry up an awful lot under Nathan Jones and now Michael O'Neill.

Having signed in the summer, it looked like a smart move to a club that were recruiting fairly well, on paper, but the opposite has happened as Stoke toil at the wrong end of the Championship table.

Wednesday were keen for a striker in January and got their man in Connor Wickham on loan from Crystal Palace, but they will certainly need more firepower next season with a number of players probably leaving the club.

The Daily Mail reported that the Owls were interested in his signature last month but it wouldn’t have been the wisest move for either player or club, with Wednesday needing a different direction to the typical ‘target man’.

Have these players featured for both Wednesday and Hull City?

Aiden McGeady

The Republic of Ireland international has already pulled on a Wednesday shirt in the past. However, since that spell, his career has taken a downward turn as he currently operates at the bottom end of the Championship with Charlton Athletic after forcing a move in January on-loan from Sunderland in League One.

The Black Cats’ demise hasn’t been kind to McGeady’s form and it doesn’t look like he’d be the man to lift the spirits at Hillsborough in the long-term, which is where their transfer strategy needs to focus on.

The Sunderland Echo credited the Owls with interest in their former player, but McGeady doesn’t have much longer left at this level and the wingers on the books at Hillsborough wouldn’t be forced out of the squad by an ageing McGeady.