Carlos Carvalhal has earmarked two centre backs as his major priority with the Championship kick off just over three weeks away.
Speaking after the 5-0 pre-season win at Alfreton on Tuesday night, the Wednesday head coach said: “Everybody knows we need two centre halves – but in most of the positions we are covered.”
Both regular centre backs, Tom Lees and Glenn Loovens, suffered injuries last season and we were sometimes left stretched in terms of a lack of defensive cover in the middle. It now looks likely that Carvalhal will be strengthening this area in the coming weeks, with Newcastle’s Grant Hanley being linked with the Owls.
He added: “If we want to bring in players, we have plenty of options but we want to bring in the correct players to really improve the team. It is probably why we are taking more time.”
Looking towards the new campaign, Carvalhal said: “We are more ready this season. It is not just the two years of work, the players understand what we want. We try to upgrade things, we also try to upgrade the quality on the tactical side and to try to do different things.
“It is an advantage that the players know a lot of the principles that we want. For example, George Boyd played his first game at Alfreton and within a few days he understands exactly what we want because it is easy with a clever player and inside a team with the dynamic.”