Sheffield Wednesday are reportedly looking to add a new winger to Danny Rohl's playing squad before the transfer window slams shut this evening.
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According to The Star, the Owls are battling it out with their Championship rivals Birmingham City to sign a forward from one of the sides fighting for promotion.
The report claims that they are both vying to complete a deal to bring Ian Poveda in from Leeds United, who are in-and-around the automatic promotion race.
Phil Hay, of The Athletic, has since added that the Whites are prepared to allow the former Manchester City winger to move on from Elland Road today, in what could be a permanent exit for him with his contract up at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old whiz could come in as an exciting partner for current Owls forward Anthony Musaba, who has shown glimpses of quality this season.
Anthony Musaba's Championship form
Signed from AS Monaco last summer, the Wednesday gem has stepped up in the fight to drag his side out of the relegation zone in the Championship.
The 23-year-old dynamo is currently the club's top goalscorer in the division with a return of four goals in 17 starts, with three of those strikes coming since the start of December.
Musaba, who has also registered two assists and created two 'big chances', currently ranks within the top 19% of Championship attacking midfielders and wingers for successful take-ons (1.98) per 90, which shows that he can take on opposition defenders to push his team up the pitch.
In Poveda, Rohl could unearth another potential match-winner and ball carrier on the opposite flank to cause problems for full-backs alongside Musaba.
Ian Poveda's attacking potential
The Leeds youngster is far from a proven talent but it is difficult for Wednesday to attract proven quality when they are inside the bottom three in the second tier.
They have to take risks in the hope that they pay off and that could be the case with Poveda, who has the potential to develop into an exciting operator for the club.
The £8.3k-per-week ace, whose movements were once hailed as "crazy" by boss Daniel Farke, spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Blackpool in the second tier and contributed with two goals and one assist in ten starts.
He did, however, rank within the top 7% of forwards for progressive carries (4.42) and successful take-ons (3.29) per 90 across his 24 league outings.
This suggests that, like Musaba, the Colombia international can provide value in being able to progress the team up the pitch and evade opposition presses on a regular basis.
Appearances
32
37
Goals
Nine
Six
Assists
Five
Eight
As you can see in the table above, Poveda did showcase his ability to make a consistent impact in the final third as a scorer and creator of goals at academy level during his time with Manchester City.
He is yet to translate that to first-team football but Rohl could hope that it all comes together for him at Wednesday to combine an end product with his impressive dribbling and carrying ability, which is why the Leeds youngster could turn out to be an exciting partner for Musaba out wide.