Rangers dodged transfer bullet that Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday couldn’t | OneFootball

Ike Ugbo was close to signing for Rangers before Sheffield Wednesday made a huge transfer blunder

Sheffield Wednesday have made some transfer blunders across their long and enriched history, and could have been spared their blushes on this one had Rangers bitten the bullet.

Hillsborough has been host to some wonderful fixtures across the years, with some incredible players stepping out on that famous turf in South Yorkshire.

Yet, with the good comes the bad, and Sheffield Wednesday supporters know all about the bad, especially in recent years.

Some truly horrific transfer blunders have been made over the decades at Hillsborough, with the likes of Jordan Rhodes, Francis Jeffers, and Almen Abdi a few that failed to live up to expectations, whilst players such as Jay Bothroyd and Ashley Fletcher underwhelmed to the highest degree.

A transfer embargo during the 2025/26 season meant that the Owls were unable to sign any permanent players, though this didn't stop them from having a huge transfer blunder as a member of their squad, one that could have been avoided had Rangers made a move instead.

Rangers decided against signing Ike Ugbo in 2023, as Sheffield Wednesday were made to pay for their errors

Canadian striker Ike Ugbo has had a turbulent career at best.

The striker came through the ranks at Chelsea and then spent various spells out on loan with the likes of Barnsley, MK Dons, Scunthorpe United, Roda, and Cercle Brugge, before earning a permanent move to Belgium with Genk in 2021.

He'd struggle to adapt to life back in Belgium after his first loan spell in Bruges, and would subsequently head out on loan to French side Troyes, who saw enough with five goals in 14 games to make his move permanent in 2022.

However, he would once again struggle in France, and by the summer of 2023, he would be on the move again, with the likes of Rangers and Burnley tracking his services.

At that point, Michael Beale was the head coach at Ibrox and was keen to make a statement signing up top in the form of Ugbo. Though a move never materialised, as Rangers instead signed each of Danilo, Sam Lammers, and Cyriel Dessers to compete for minutes up top, Ugbo instead headed out on loan to Cardiff City in the Championship.

Four goals in 20 appearances were enough to convince Sheffield Wednesday to take a gamble on the Canadian, bringing him to South Yorkshire on loan for the season, and seven goals and one assist in 18 games enticed the Owls into paying around £2.5 million for his services.

To say it went poorly from there would be an understatement.

In his first permanent season in South Yorkshire, Ugbo made 34 league appearances under Danny Rohl, but not even the German could get a tune out of him, going the entire campaign without hitting the back of the net.

As Rohl departed and Pedersen arrived, there were numerous off-field issues plaguing the club at the time, no less than entering administration, and whilst Wednesday underwent a fire sale, Ugbo stayed.

It was hoped that with the mass exodus of numerous Wednesday players, such as Anthony Musaba, Josh Windass, and Djeidi Gassama would ignite the Canadian into life, but it wasn't to be.

Ugbo would go the entire campaign without finding the back of the net in league play again, with his one goal coming in the EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers.

Despite Ugbo being among the best-paid and expensive players in the squad, the likes of Jamal Lowe, Charlie McNeil, and Jerry Yates were all preferred ahead of him by head coach Pedersen, as the Owls will almost certainly always regret their move for the striker.

Sheffield Wednesday will always pay the price for the Ike Ugbo deal

As far as costly errors go, there can't be many more financially poor in Wednesday's history than Ugbo.

For a player who cost £2.5 million, to go two whole years without a league goal is a disastrous return by every single metric possible.

Even when the Owls were struggling for players during the 2025/26 season, promoting players from the youth team to plug gaps, Ugbo still couldn't force his way into the club's plans, and will forever go down as one of the worst signings in Wednesday's history.