Opinion: Sheffield Wednesday must act quickly in their pursuit of 28-year-old defender

Despite producing a valiant effort last season, Sheffield Wednesday were unable to secure an immediate return to the Championship.

The Owls were dealt the misfortune of having to face an in-form Sunderland outfit in the play-offs and succumbed to a 2-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Alex Neil’s side.

Set for another year in the third-tier, Wednesday will be determined to challenge for a top-two finish in League One during the 2022/23 campaign.

In order to emerge as legitimate contenders for promotion, the Owls will need to get their transfer recruitment spot in during the upcoming window.

One of the areas that Darren Moore will definitely need to bolster in the coming months is the centre-back position.

Chey Dunkley and Sam Hutchinson were both recently released by Wednesday whilst the Yorkshire-based outfit will be unable to call upon the services of Liam Gibson and Jordan Storey next season following the expiry of their loan spells.

As per a report from Yorkshire Live, Wednesday are looking into the possibility of signing Harlee Dean on a permanent deal from Birmingham City.

Dean, who is understood to be open to the possibility of re-joining the Owls, is not the only defender who is believed to be on the club’s radar.

According to a separate report from Yorkshire Live, the Owls are interested in signing Ben Heneghan.

Heneghan is set to leave AFC Wimbledon when his contract expires at the end of June and thus will be available on a free transfer.

If the Owls are indeed weighing up a potential swoop for the centre-back, they must not hesitate when it comes to this particular pursuit as Heneghan may not be short of offers this summer if his performances last season are anything to go by.

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