Sheffield Wednesday must be on alert after big West Brom, Norwich City calls | OneFootball

Tony Mowbray and Johannes Hoff Thorup should both be on Sheffield Wednesday's managerial radar this summer.

As the Championship season draws to a close, Sheffield Wednesday are facing an uncertain summer.

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Wednesday emerged as surprise play-off contenders after a strong start to this campaign under Danny Rohl, but their promotion push has collapsed in recent months.

It has been an incredibly disappointing second half of the season for the Owls, and only four teams - Cardiff City, Derby County, Preston North End and Watford - have picked up fewer points than Rohl's men since the turn of the year.

Wednesday's poor form has not been helped by a host of off-field issues, including a public dispute between Rohl and owner Dejphon Chansiri in the January transfer window and the late payment of the players' March salaries that almost saw the club hit with a three-window transfer ban.

Despite the backdrop of chaos at Hillsborough, the Owls will secure a top-half finish if they avoid defeat in their final game against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday, which would represent a significant improvement on last season, but many fear that progress could be lost this summer if Rohl departs.

Sheffield Wednesday must prepare for life without Danny Rohl

The disagreement between Rohl and Chansiri started after the German was denied a move to Southampton in December, with the Premier League outfit said to have been unwilling to pay his £4 million release clause.

However, after parting company with Ivan Juric following their relegation from the top flight, the Saints are said to have identified Rohl as their top target to take over at St Mary's this summer, and with his compensation fee reducing to just £2 million for Championship clubs, there should be no such barriers to a deal being reached this time around.

Southampton are believed to be considering other options, including the likes of Eric Ramsay, Will Still, David Wagner and Frank Lampard, but unfortunately for Wednesday, even if the South Coast outfit do not come calling for Rohl, they could still face the threat of losing the 36-year-old to Leicester City or RB Leipzig.

Rohl revealed last week that he has already informed Chansiri of his decision on his future, telling The Star: "The chairman of the club knows my decision.

"This is important and the club know what is in my mind. I think today, tomorrow is not the day to speak about this, it is about after the season. We want to finish the season and then let’s see in which direction it goes."

It seems the Owls have been preparing for Rohl's possible departure for some time as it was claimed in March that Chansiri is keen for assistant Henrik Pedersen to step up to the top job in the summer, but his previous managerial record does not make for good reading, and he would certainly be a risky choice.

Should Chansiri decide to make an external appointment, there are plenty of strong candidates out there, such as Wagner, Gary O'Neil, Steve Cooper and Rob Edwards, and another two managers have become available in the past week that could be appealing to Wednesday.

Sheffield Wednesday must consider Tony Mowbray and Johannes Hoff Thorup

After their faint play-off hopes were ended, West Brom and Norwich City parted company with Tony Mowbray and Johannes Hoff Thorup respectively last week.

It was a disappointing second spell at The Hawthorns for Mowbray, who won just five of his 17 games in charge after replacing Carlos Corberan in January, drawing four and losing eight, before being sacked following just over three months at the helm.

Given that many Albion supporters had turned on Mowbray over the previous weeks, his departure was not a surprise, but Thorup's sudden exit from Carrow Road certainly did come as a shock, particularly as there was a consensus among Canaries supporters that he was overseeing a transition season during his first year at the club.

While Mowbray and Thorup have suffered some reputational damage after being dismissed from their latest roles, they certainly deserve another opportunity at Championship level, and both would be worthy of consideration by Wednesday this summer if Rohl moves on.

Mowbray's time at West Brom did not go to plan, but the 61-year-old showed during his stints at Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland that he can build a team capable of challenging for promotion while playing an attractive, attacking brand of football, and he also proved that he can recruit smartly on a limited budget, which could make him the perfect fit for the Owls.

After the disagreements Mowbray had with the hierarchy at both Ewood Park and the Stadium of Light, he may be reluctant to work with another controversial owner at Hillsborough, but he could be the safe pair of hands that Wednesday need to help smooth the transition away from Rohl, and given his vast experience, he may be able to provide guidance to Chansiri on how to run the club more sustainably.

Norwich did not spend a single day in the play-off places under Thorup this season, which is undoubtedly a failure given the quality of the squad he had at his disposal, but the Canaries did produce plenty of positive performances and comprehensive victories during his tenure, with inconsistency and defensive issues preventing them from making further progress up the table.

While he was not given the opportunity to continue to the next phase of his journey at Carrow Road, Thorup is widely considered to be a project manager who can put long-term foundations for success in place at a club, and he could bring a vision and direction to the Owls that they have certainly been lacking in recent times.

With the largest protest yet against Chansiri's ownership taking place prior to Saturday's 1-1 draw against Portsmouth, the unstable environment may deter prospective managers from accepting the Wednesday