After defeating Barnsley in the play-off final to seal a return to the Championship, Sheffield Wednesday look set to raid another of their South Yorkshire rivals this summer.
The Yorkshire Post suggests Wednesday are one of at least three Championship clubs; Millwall and Swansea City being two of the others – to have eyed up a move for Rotherham United forward Chiedozie Ogbene.
Who is Sheffield Wednesday target Chiedozie Ogbene?
Since arriving from Irish football in 2017, Ogbene has spent six seasons bouncing between League Two, League One and the Championship.
The Nigeria-born forward spent the 2022/23 campaign in the Championship with Rotherham, scoring eight goals in 39 appearances as the Millers suffered relegation back to the third tier.
Despite playing for a team struggling at the bottom end of the division, Ogbene continued to be picked by the Republic of Ireland last season, having pledged his allegiance to the nation in July 2020.
With four goals from 15 senior international caps, plus his team-high eight goals for Rotherham last season (Conor Washington was next highest with five), Ogbene will clearly feel he is better than a League One player.
Indeed, Ogbene was lauded as "spectacular" by Ireland boss Stephen Kenny last year after scoring one and assisting another in a 2-2 draw with the world's top-ranked national side Belgium.
Where would Ogbene fit in at Wednesday?
Wednesday are no strangers to poaching players from Rotherham, having signed Michael Ihiekwe and Michael Smith from their neighbours last summer. As regulars in the Owls' promotion-winning side, it is fair to say those two transfers paid off handsomely.
As pointed out by manager Darren Moore earlier this week in an interview with talkSPORT, it is imperative Wednesday get their transfer business spot on again as Championship football returns to Hillsborough.
"We have to consistently move forward and with the recruitment process it's essential that we bring the right ones in to keep the continuity of the club moving forward," he said.
As a free agent who was earning £1.5k-per-week this past year, according to Capology, the 26-year-old appears to be a smart gamble worth taking by second-tier clubs such as Wednesday.
There is room for Ogbene in the Wednesday side, too, with the former Cork City and Limerick player particularly impressing in terms of progressive carries (2.97 per game) and dribbles (1.5 per game).
To put that into some context, only one Wednesday player – Alex Mighten (1.1) – managed more than one successful dribble per game on average last season in League One.
Indeed, Ogbene ranks in the top 3% for progressive carries and top 7% for successful take-ons among his positional peers, so he is clearly a player who knows how to beat his man and get the ball forward.
After crossing paths with Rotherham by returning to the Championship last month, Wednesday are now well positioned to strike another blow and land one of their rivals' key assets.
