The Owls boss has spoken of his desire to strengthen his side with ‘big impact’ players, though approaching the midway point of the window, things appear to be slow-moving on that front. There is understood to be interest in the likes of Josh Windass and Michael Smith from elsewhere, though the likelihood of those clubs reaching any Wednesday valuation are low as things stand.
Asked whether he was aware of clubs showing interest in his players, Röhl played his cards close to his chest but accepted there will be admirers. He is confident the environment at S6 is one that will ensure players want to stick around, however.
“Of course we have some interesting players now at a good age that perform on a good level,” Röhl said. “If we are doing well and we make a lot of things right, there is always a good chance to keep players here and convince them.
“We have created an identity here and we show them. I think the relationship between my players and the staff and the relationship with me is a big, big part. It means if they get a request they will not immediately jump away. But of course if you are successful – and at the moment we are not bad – then the interest from other clubs will come. We will try to develop and push more and more.”
Continuing, Röhl spoke of the importance of selling assets at the right time in order to reinvest as part of a longer-term process. It’s an area Wednesday have been criticised for not exploiting in years gone by and is one the German boss would like to see implemented in the future as his players continue on an arc of improvement.
He said: “I think maybe you come to a point where there is a strategy from the club – it is not my final decision – maybe the point comes to sell some players, to make money and reinvest. This is the strategy for the club, it is only what I recommend. But you can create value and this is the normal process when there comes a bigger fish who catches the smaller fishes – this is normal. If you do it smart then you have the chance to build up with new players again, but this is a big, big topic, it is not a topic now for this point.”
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