Sheffield Wednesday & Leicester City face Portsmouth, Oxford threat in £0 transfer race | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City, Portsmouth and Oxford United are all racing to seal the services of an in-demand free agent this summer

The summer window is now heading underway in preparation for the 2026/27 campaign, which has led League One trio Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City and Oxford United to rival Portsmouth in the race to seal one of the EFL's most hotly-coveted free transfer agreements.

Wednesday are undertaking a significant rebuilding process both on and off-the-pitch following Arise Capital Partners' long-awaited takeover of the Steel City club in May, which has preceded various changes at boardroom level and is set to see a depleted and threadbare squad revamped with fresh investment in the coming weeks and months.

With Sil Swinkels poised to arrive from Aston Villa and a host of links to players elsewhere, Wednesday are expected to be among the busiest EFL outfits in this summer's window and they're facing the threat of competition posed by Leicester, Oxford and Portsmouth in pursuit of one particular target.

Leicester will also be pressing the reset button after suffering successive relegations from the Premier League to English football's third-tier, and having recently sealed the appointment of ex-Southampton and Rangers head coach Russell Martin, the Foxes can now truly undertake that process and are setting their sights on targets as intense activity awaits at the King Power Stadium.

As for Oxford, they too find themselves under fresh management in the form of Aaron Ramsey, who has landed his first full-time managerial role after hanging up his boots earlier this year and will be looking to take the U's back to the Championship at the very first time of asking.

Right now, the strongest sense of stability can be found at Portsmouth, where a third straight campaign in the Championship awaits under John Mousinho. Despite Pompey's established second-tier status, however, they're in the race with three League One outfits to seal acquire the services of an especially in-demand free agent.

Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City, Oxford United and Portsmouth in £0 Archie Collins transfer race

The player in question is Archie Collins, who represents one of the most attractive options on the EFL free agent market as he fields interest from Wednesday, Leicester, Oxford and Portsmouth ahead of his official departure from League One side Peterborough United at the end of this month.

Action Images

That's according to a recent report from the Peterborough Telegraph, which has laid claim to four of Collins' suitors after the talented midfielder rejected the offer of a new contract at London Road.

The 26-year-old, who recorded two goals and seven assists as Luke Williams' side finished 18th in League One last time out, was placed on the transfer list last summer, having turned down fresh terms ahead of the final year of his contract with Peterborough, although a move failed to materialise and he saw out the entirety of the 2025/26 season before emerging as the latest Posh player to depart on a free transfer.

Collins has established his reputation as one of the third-tier's finest central midfield operators over recent years, first arriving at Posh from Exeter City back in 2023.

Peterborough supporters will not be surprised to see the level of interest in Collins' signature, which is now firmly up for grabs without haggling over a transfer fee, although it would doubtless sting for Williams' side to see the free agent wind up with a League One rival in Wednesday, Leicester or Oxford.

All three sides will be expected to compete for promotion to the Championship, although Portsmouth's Championship status could stand Fratton Park out as the most attractive destination for the departing Posh starlet as he looks to take the next significant step in his career.

Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City may have Archie Collins transfer advantage

It would, of course, be amiss to overlook the fact that Portsmouth can offer Championship football, a level which Collins has not yet experienced after showing his class in League One and League Two.

Action Images

That's exactly why he now has a host of suitors in pursuit, but despite Pompey's higher league status, Wednesday and Leicester could both have crucial potential advantages to propose.

Both clubs are behemoths by League One standards, and while they find themselves at this level as a consequence of varying degrees of mismanagement behind the scenes, new eras are brewing at Hillsborough and the King Power respectively, and joining one of those two rebuilding projects may be tempting.

The changes at ownership and boardoom level could mean a move to the Steel City is even more attractive, though Leicester were crowned as Premier League champions just ten years ago and will hold ambitions of rising back through the divisions in the coming seasons under a proven promotion-winner in Martin.

Oxford's own lure with the prestige and pedigree of ex-Arsenal and Wales midfield sensation Ramsey cannot be ignored either, and Collins has a series of tempting potential destinations to run the rule over as he assesses the options on the table this summer.