Sheffield Wednesday operated with a very large squad for League One level in 2021/22 and ultimately failed to bounce back to the Championship.

Darren Moore did mostly settle on a starting XI in the second half of the campaign, which made it increasingly difficult to keep the whole squad content.

Some of the Owls' loan signings really did not work out in 2021/22 due to the sheer size of the squad, and that could hold the club back in assembling a promotion pushing group in the upcoming transfer window.

Wednesday need to move on some of their highest earners to reach a sustainable squad at third tier level, or the club will lose more and more money the longer the wait for promotion persists.

Josh Windass has had a very frustrating season in and out of the team, and with one year remaining on his contract, the Owls should get him off the wage bill if possible.

The 28-year-old is a Championship standard player and a class above when fully fit in the third tier, although, that hardly occurred if at all this season and probably cannot be counted on next term.

There would certainly be second tier interest if the former Rangers man was made available for transfer, and with the chance that he leaves for free in the summer of 2023, if Wednesday do not go up next season, it could prove a sensible move to offload him this summer.

Windass' presence may also prevent the development and regular minutes of some younger players who have higher potential sell-on values next season.

 

 

Windass made four league starts, including the play-offs this season, unable to make many decisive contributions as the Owls pushed for promotion.

Re-allocating a portion of the wages that Windass receives, to players who have better availability and are hungrier to break into the side, could put the Owls in a more favourable position.

Automatic promotion will be the ambition next season, after Darren Moore has had a full campaign to assess his squad and establish the way he wants to play.

Offloading some figures of a past era at Hillsborough could be a good way to freshen up the squad, and Windass would fall into that category having been so ineffective, through no fault of his own, this term.