Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk finally has the opportunity to stamp his authority down on the squad for the very first time since taking the helm at Hillsborough back in September.
The Owls boss inherited the side from Steve Bruce and Lee Bullen, so January presents the chance to bolster their promotion ambitions by bringing in a few additions.
However, the 40-year-old’s hands may be tied by finances with the Daily Mail claiming that he has a ‘tight’ budget at his disposal, which would reinforce Monk’s recent comments claiming that he would be operating the loan market in particular.
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Wednesday were linked with just that last week as Football Insider reported their interest in Southampton winger Josh Sims, although they will have to battle Championship rivals Huddersfield Town and his most recent loan club New York Red Bulls.
Monk has even since confirmed his desire to clinch the 22-year-old, but no concrete move is yet to be made.
Sims made 34 appearances last term across several different competitions, including the Premier League, the Championship as well as the MLS.
The Saints man was sent out on loan to Reading before helping out his contracted club at the back end of last season and has recently returned from America, making him available for another move.
However, his potential arrival should send warning signals to current Owls loanee Jacob Murphy after a string of poor performances this campaign.
The 24-year-old is on the eighth loan club of his career here in south Yorkshire, and being primarily a right-sided midfielder, he seems most at risk if Monk gets his man this month.
Murphy has been blasted on several occasions by supporters while only one player in the Wednesday squad gets dispossessed more than he does, per WhoScored.
Two goals and one assist in 19 appearances is rather poor from a winger and he has also failed to record higher than a 6.87 rating in any of his last seven league matches.
Given everything mentioned about him, he’s very much been a flop this season.
He must be wary of any incoming in his position as they are surely going to be given a chance above him, even more so as he’ll be Monk’s man rather than Bullen’s.
And in other news, plenty of Owls fans are worried following this critical moment during their historic FA Cup victory…
