One Sheffield United transfer will add more sting to Sheffield Wednesday's Dejphon Chansiri nightmare | OneFootball

Sheffield United's signing of former Sheffield Wednesday loanee Mark McGuinness has sparked outrage among Owls supporrters.

It has been a nightmare summer for Sheffield Wednesday, and while the transfer window is now closed, their off-field problems are showing no sign of easing.

After failing to pay the wages of players and staff on time on multiple occasions during the summer, Sheffield Wednesday were hit with a four-window ban on paying transfer fees, which will remain in place until the end of January 2027.

In a desperate attempt to raise funds, owner Dejphon Chansiri sold star duo Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama for a combined total of just £3 million, while forwards Josh Windass and Michael Smith were also among those to depart this summer after handing in their notices.

The mass exodus has left manager Henrik Pedersen with a threadbare squad to work with, and while the Dane was hoping to add some much-needed depth and quality in the final stages of the transfer window, the Owls were prevented from doing business by the EFL as Chansiri was unable to prove he has the funds required to fulfil his financial obligations this season.

Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and defender Harry Amass were Wednesday's only two signings of the summer, with the pair arriving on loan from Cardiff City and Manchester United respectively, and supporters could only watch on as their Championship rivals completed some high-profile transfer moves, with one deal done by local rivals Sheffield United likely to sting more than most.

Mark McGuinness, Sheffield United deal is another cruel blow for Sheffield Wednesday

In what were much happier times for the club, Sheffield Wednesday signed defender Mark McGuinness on loan from Cardiff City in August 2022 as part of an eye-catching summer of transfer business under then-manager Darren Moore.

McGuinness immediately slotted into the Owls backline, and he quickly became a firm fan favourite as he helped his side emerge as serious automatic promotion contenders in League One, with their outstanding defensive record providing the perfect platform for their challenge at the top of the table.

Wednesday kept an impressive 13 clean sheets in the 24 games McGuinness featured in, underlining just how much of an impact he made at Hillsborough, and he won back-to-back Player of the Month awards in November and December.

However, McGuinness' form made it almost inevitable that he would be recalled by parent club Cardiff in January, particularly with the Welsh outfit struggling towards the bottom of the Championship, but thankfully for the Owls, they still went on to win promotion in his absence, and the 24-year-old was present in the crowd to watch his former team-mates beat Barnsley in the play-off final at Wembley.

Given the high regard McGuinness is held in on the blue side of the city, eyebrows were certainly raised when he made the move to Sheffield United from Luton Town on deadline day, and a video released by the Blades on social media rubbed further salt in the wounds of Wednesday supporters.

Sheffield Wednesday should not be too concerned about Mark McGuinness, Sheffield United move

With Sheffield United making a total of 14 signings this summer, Sheffield Wednesday supporters became accustomed to watching their bitter rivals complete deals during the window, but their move for McGuinness came almost entirely out of the blue, with little speculation emerging about the transfer before it was officially announced.

However, while it will hurt Owls fans to see one of their former favourites rock up at Bramall Lane, they should perhaps not be too worried about the impact he will make at his new club.

Incredibly, United are currently the only club below Wednesday in the Championship table, and they are still waiting for their first point of the season after a horror start to life under new head coach Ruben Selles, so while it is still early in the campaign, they have given themselves a mountain to climb if they are to achieve promotion.

With large sections of the fan base already calling for Selles to be sacked after just five games in charge, McGuinness is not exactly coming into the most stable of environments, and he faces a serious challenge to establish himself in the team.

While the likes of Anel Ahmedhodzic and Jack Robinson have departed, the Blades are incredibly well-stocked at centre-back having also signed Tyler Bindon, Nils Zatterstrom, Ben Godfrey, Japhet Tanganga and Ben Mee this summer in addition to McGuinness, and in truth, there seemed little need for them to bring in the Republic of Ireland international.

It could also be argued that McGuinness' career has not quite progressed the way he would have hoped since his loan spell at Wednesday, with the defender suffering relegation to League One with Luton last season following his £10 million move to Kenilworth Road.

There is no doubt that McGuinness is a capable Championship defender, and if he rediscovers his form, he could help to shore up a United defence that has looked uncharacteristically vulnerable this season, but however he performs, it will do little to ease the sense of frustration Owls supporters will feel at seeing him wear the red and white stripes.