Sheffield Wednesday announced the shock appointment of Doncaster Rovers manager Darren Moore this morning.
It comes after Sheffield Wednesday racked up their fourth-straight Championship defeat at the weekend. They headed to Luton Town and would find themselves two goals up at half-time, only to concede three in the second-half.
Moore finds his new side in 23rd-place of the Championship table and with a six point gap to safety.
Despite the looming fear of relegation, Sheffield Wednesday fans are largely optimistic about Moore’s arrival at Hillsborough. But question marks remain over the club’s ownership.
READ: Sheffield Wednesday’s Darren Moore compensation fee revealed
Dejphon Chansiri has proved a hugely contested figure this season. The Tony Pulis saga cast him and the managerial position at his club in a bad light and Moore will be cautious of his new boss.
But Chansiri has done himself a favour with the appointment of Moore, and now he needs to back him. The upcoming summer transfer window will be a crucial one in shaping the future of the club and should they remain in the Championship, Moore will still have a lot of work to do in the transfer market.
He’s set to lose several first-team players who see their contracts expire at the end of the season, and set to lose two strikers in Jordan Rhodes, and Jack Marriott who’s on loan from Derby County.
Add to that the fact that Sheffield Wednesday are the joint-lowest scorers in the Championship with 23 goals and it makes attacking additions a necessity for Moore this summer.
One striker previously linked with Sheffield Wednesday is Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle. The 30-year-old is famed for his time spent in the Championship and no time was better than that he spent under Moore at West Brom – he was in charge through the majority of the 2018/19 Championship season in which Gayle scored 23 goals in the league.
The likelihood of Gayle joining Sheffield Wednesday has always been distant but now with Moore at the helm, and Newcastle yet to renew Gayle’s deal which expires in the summer, it could give the rumour a new lease of life.
Sheffield Wednesday will need to first retain their Championship status, but it’s a move that could easily fall into place should Moore have the funding to make it happen.
