This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With just weeks to go until the start of the new Championship season, things are looking far from certain at Sheffield Wednesday heading into the new campaign.

Although the club themselves have yet to officially confirm the news, it is being widely reported that Steve Bruce has resigned as manager in order to take charge of Premier League Newcastle, less than five months after arriving at Hillsborough.

Furthermore, it appears that the club have already suffered a blow in their search for Bruce's successor, with the Daily Mirror's Live Transfer Blog (15/07, 18:18) reporting that former Brighton manager Chris Hughton has already turned down an approach from the Owls to take over from Bruce.

With a proven track record of getting team promoted from the Championship and then keeping them in the Premier League, Hughton would have surely been an ideal candidate to take over from Bruce at Wednesday.

Now however, it looks as though the club's search for Bruce's replacement will have to continue for some time yet.

So where exactly do Sheffield Wednesday go from here?

We put that question to some of our Football League World writers.

Alfie Burns

“It’s difficult to say and there will be massive disappointment now it looks as if Chris Hughton will pass up any opportunity that comes his way.

“Someone like Garry Monk will surely be a leading contender for the job now. The former Leeds boss has excellent pedigree in the Championship and he’s often done things on a budget – Middlesbrough aside.

“That’s got to appeal to the Hillsborough hierarchy, and the fact he’s out of work currently would make any appointment an obvious one.

“Whether his team of coaches would follow from Birmingham remains to be seen, but he’d be someone I’d seriously consider.”

Louie Chandler

"It is not often that I am totally stumped by a question but I honestly have no idea where they go from here.

"Whichever way you look at it, Wednesday have been royally screwed over and I honestly think what Steve Bruce has done is awful.

"They now have next to no chance of being ready for the start of next season and all the momentum built has completely evaporated. They need to bring somebody in quickly but obviously should not rush it either.

"Had Chris Hughton come in, it would have softened the blow significantly. But with him having ruled himself out, it is really hard to see someone coming in who would be a positive appointment that galvanises the fans."

Gary Hutchinson

“They’re not in a good place at all, are they? I can understand Steve Bruce going and the money they’re getting sounds good, but it’s still a mess.

“Less than three weeks to go and no manager at all. That’s a real quandary.

“I can’t see them bringing in someone who is already at another club as there is too much to deal with in terms of timescale. It has to be a free agent and obviously, Hughton was the one. Now he’s gone, they’re looking short on candidates.

“Garry Monk would be an obvious choice for me, despite the recent furore over his dealings. He did a great job with Birmingham and maybe the two need each other to move forward.”