Henrik Pedersen reveals Sheffield Wednesday transfer plan | OneFootball

Henrik Pedersen has shown how Sheffield Wednesday are preparing for the upcoming transfer window

Sheffield Wednesday's status as a League One club next season was confirmed over two months ago, and after this weekend, their rebuild can finally commence.

The Owls take on West Brom on Saturday in the final game of the Championship campaign, and it's set to be a party atmosphere in front of a capacity crowd, with the Baggies freshly safe from relegation themselves and Wednesday hopefully having a potential confirmed takeover to celebrate, too.

The target date for the takeover by US-based consortium Arise is this coming Friday, but even if the new owners are in the door by the final day, there'll still be some questions that need asking surrounding the logistics of the upcoming transfer window at Hillsborough.

Sanctions surrounding any salary caps or fee restrictions are still unconfirmed, per the Sheffield Star, and so is the identity of a technical or sporting director, who will be overseeing the business this summer.

But, in the interim, manager Henrik Pedersen and his coaching staff are doing their best to prepare for when the window opens.

Henrik Pedersen reveals Sheffield Wednesday preparation for upcoming summer transfer window

The majority of the senior playing squad at Hillsborough was gutted last summer in the final few months of Dejphon Chansiri's reign, and various transfer restrictions have limited the Owls' focus to the loan market this year, from which players will return to their parent clubs in the summer.

With Wednesday set to begin life in League One in August, the club have undergone early scouting missions on numerous third and fourth-tier games, alongside some Under-21s matches, in preparation for what is set to be a busy summer.

"The whole season, we try to control what we can control," Henrik Pedersen told the Sheffield Star. "I think we have now seen 20, 25 League One games across the coaching team.

"Kevin [Beadell, head of recruitment], he's working in the background with his scouts who have watched League One, under-21 games, and League Two. We try to cover as much as we can to be as well-prepared as we can for all the free transfers, but also for the potential of more.

"If there should be something we can buy players with, we try to do all that we can to be as prepared as possible. But of course, we're looking forward to when the signature is done for the new owners, so we can process and execute and go deeper on everything."

Ultimately, with Wednesday's fate being secured weeks before anyone else's across the EFL, there have been some restrictions on their scouting missions, as certain players they've been looking at who could be set to be out of contract a few months ago could sign fresh terms at their current club before the end of the campaign, for example.

Nevertheless, the Owls are doing what they can to use their unfortunate situation to get as far ahead as they possibly can before the summer.

"Many clubs have games to stay in the league, to be promoted. Many clubs have not started to think about the new season yet. We can start to think because we are relegated," Pedersen admitted.

"It's changed tomorrow, it's changed next week, because then there's more clarity for other clubs. It's changed more in two weeks, then there's more clarity. The market will change so much, so we have to be up to date every day, and we have to follow all that we can so we are as prepared as possible."

Sheffield Wednesday are making the best out of their bad situation ahead of next season

The lack of clarity in the current state of the transfer market isn't the only lack of clarity which is affecting Sheffield Wednesday, as the Owls are still unsure whether they'll be able to pay fees for players this summer or if they'll have a wage cap placed on them.

What is certain so far, though, is that Henrik Pedersen's side will be starting with a 15-point deduction next season and will be heading into the summer with a depleted squad in desperate need of numerous additions.

The prospect of dropping into League Two isn't one that Owls fans want to give a moment's thought to, and it seems that those at the club are adopting a similar mindset, too, as they're wanting to make sure they can hit the ground running with a strong squad immediately come the start of August.

Step one of ensuring that happens is by having the takeover completed, ideally by Friday's target. After that, getting clarity on their state of play regarding the transfer market will be the next priority.

Then, with the groundwork seemingly in place for some transfer targets ahead of the summer, the Owls can get to work and ensure that they'll at least remain a League One side next season.