Birmingham City have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign Josh Windass.
Sheffield Wednesday will be braced for a considerable amount of interest in some of their key players over the summer transfer window.
We’ve already seen the likes of Jordan Rhodes, Adam Reach and Osaze Urhoghide follow Liam Shaw out of the exit door at Hillsborough this summer.
The Owls were relegated from the Championship on the final day of the 2020/21 campaign and will be hoping they can win promotion back into the second-tier of English football at the first time of asking this term.
Darren Moore’s side are set to take on Charlton Athletic in their first match of the 2021/22 season, in what is likely to be a tricky test for the Owls.
But it remains unclear as to whether any more players will depart before that season opener against the Addicks, with the likes of Josh Windass being one of those linked with a move elsewhere.
Birmingham City been credited with an interest in landing his signature, although Birmingham Live have recently revealed that a move for Windass has been ruled out ahead of the new Championship season.
The Blues finished 18th in the second-tier standings last term and will be hoping they can build on some much-improved displays under the management of Lee Bowyer towards the end of last year’s campaign, where they avoided relegation into League One.
Windass netted ten goals in 44 appearances, and also chipped in with six assists during the 2020/21 season for Sheffield Wednesday, and could have been worth a punt for a Birmingham City side that struggled for goals on a consistent basis from attacking members of their squad.
Lukas Jutkiewicz was the club’s top goalscorer but only managed to find the back of the net on eight occasions, with Scott Hogan a close second on the list with seven goals to his name, which doesn’t make for the best of reading for a striker that featured regularly for the Blues last term.
Therefore, you have to think that Birmingham could be making a mistake in not pursuing a move for Windass, especially when he’s shown he can score goals in a team that struggled for the majority of last season.
The likes of summer signing Ryan Woods will be crying out to provide a striker of Windass’ quality with the service for him to score goals, and it’s certainly an odd move to not push ahead with by the Blues.
Sheffield Wednesday’s valuation is bizarre
Sheffield Wednesday’s asking price might be a slight issue for any interested parties, with journalist Alan Nixon revealing that the Owls are looking for a fee in the region of £5million for Windass’ services.
It’s certainly a surprising move to take by the Owls, whose financial troubles in recent seasons have been well-documented, although it remains to be seen as to whether they’ll lower their demands anytime soon.
He could have made a real difference with the Blues
Sky Sports pundit Sue Smith has previously labelled Windass as a ‘constant threat’ after their win over Blackburn Rovers in the 2020/21 season, and that hard work-ethic could have been useful for Lee Bowyer’s side moving forwards.
“He played well. He’s just a constant runner and a constant threat.
“He deserved his goal. He played well tonight and he played well at the weekend. It was a deserved three points for Sheffield Wednesday.”
Birmingham are set to take on Sheffield United in their season opener, in what is likely to be a tricky test for the Blues at Bramall Lane against Slavisa Jokanovic’s side.
They’d have been much better off having Windass in their squad for that game, but it looks like that won’t be the case thanks for Birmingham’s own choosing, and that is a mistake by the second city club.
