Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk has suggested that the Owls could look to make permanent moves for both Connor Wickham and Josh Windass in the summer, depending on the impact they can make during their loan spells.

The Owls were in need of adding to their options up front in the January window, with top scorer Steven Fletcher having suffered a knee injury and Monk managed to bring former Wednesday loanee Wickham back to the club from Crystal Palace.

Monk’s side were also aiming to get some extra creativity and a goal threat into their midfield options, and managed to secure a deal for Windass from Wigan Athletic.

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Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Monk suggested he is hoping the pair can make an instant impact for his side, and that the club would look at their potential availability for a permanent move in the summer, saying: "They give us immediate help.

"Whenever you bring in players, it is, if they do well, with the possibility of moving forward to bring those type of players in. It is definitely something we will look at but right now it is the immediate help and seeing how they get on.
"Hopefully they do fantastic and can help us get that run of games going now and push on. “We will see what happens at the end. Right now it is their job to come in and give fresh impetus to the team."

The verdict

Considering that Sheffield Wednesday left it late in the window to conduct the transfer business that they needed, the signings of Wickham and Windass appear to be promising for the Owls, with the pair fitting the sort of criteria that Monk’s side were needing to add in the winter window.

It is therefore no surprise to see Monk suggest that the club could look to make both players’ moves permanent in the summer should they go onto show their potential for the Owls during the rest of the campaign.

Both players will still be contracted to their respective parent clubs at the end of the season, and the Owls will be needing to continue to monitor their potential situations throughout the rest of the campaign to assess whether they could make a permanent move for either player in the summer.

Signing both on permanent deals would be a wise move for Wednesday, especially if they can make the sort of impact they are capable of during the rest of the season, and it will be interesting to see whether the club manage to make that happen in the summer.