Sky Sports EFL pundit and former Sheffield Wednesday ace David Prutton has insisted that the Owls need to sort out the issues they are having with paying players wages if they are to attract new signings to the club.

Darren Moore’s side are facing a crucial summer transfer period where they will need to replace a number of their high earners that have left the club at the end of their deals. That will have helped to ease the financial issues that the Owls will be suffering following their relegation to League One.

However, the Owls have still been having issues paying the wages of their existing squad. Although, the latest update on the situation from The Sun journalist Alan Nixon has revealed that some of the wages have now been paid to the players, but also that some remain outstanding so the issue has not been completely solved just yet.

Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Prutton insisted that Sheffield Wednesday need to get their wage situation sorted if they are going to be able to convince players to join them this summer.

He said: “If you are a footballer, you have to look at it purely from a business point of view.

“Yes it might be glorious playing for Sheffield Wednesday, and it is, but nobody does it for free. A fan's take on that, there’s always the assertion that they would play for nothing and I understand that.

“But when it's your job or it's your career, that'll be something that'll be heavily thought out by anyone they approach. It'll definitely come into it and hopefully they're able to sort it out and draw a line under it.

“If you're coming at it purely from the angle of playing for a club like Sheffield Wednesday, especially at that level, it will be a huge draw in that division and the sort of players they will be hoping to attract. But they have to get their house in order.”

The verdict

Prutton is spot on here, it is going to be very difficult for Darren Moore to convince players to make the move to Sheffield Wednesday this summer if they are still having issues paying wages. The Owls should be one of the most attractive propositions for a player to join in the English third tier, but that will not be the case if they are still having off-field issues with finances.

If Sheffield Wednesday can resolve their issues with paying the wages of their players then they should be able to attract a number of quality players at League One level to Hillsborough this summer. That would be massive for them because Moore will need to make additions to his squad if he is going to be able to get them challenging for promotion.

It seems like the situation might be getting a little better based on recent reports, but until their wage situation is sorted out for good then it will be a hard sell to convince players to make the move there you feel this summer.