Sheffield Wednesday to beat Sunderland to £3m Ike Ugbo signing | OneFootball

The Owls have been pushing to secure the return of their former loanee.

Sheffield Wednesday are expected to beat Sunderland in the race to sign Troyes forward, and former loanee, Ike Ugbo.

The Star has reported that a deal for the Canadian striker could be sealed within the next 36 hours, leaving Sunderland, who were also vying for Ugbo's signature, in second place.

A further statement from Darren Witcoop has suggested that Wednesday will pay a fee in the region of £3 million for their striker target after previous reports said that they were going to pay a £2.5 million package.

Manager Danny Rohl said that he wanted to add to the 10 signings that he had already made this summer before their first game of the season, against Plymouth Argyle. He'd also hinted that the battle for Ugbo, 25, may come down to a "photo-finish".

It now looks like they have their man, who is supposedly keen on a return to Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday set to seal Ike Ugbo deal

After agreeing a £2.5 million fee with the French side, Wednesday then encountered problems with how the money was going to be paid, as per the Star. They then added that the Black Cats had overtaken the Owls in this late push towards the proverbial finish line.

Rohl was asked on Saturday about this contest for the Canadian. "When you go in a race, you want to win a race," said the German, to BBC Sheffield.

"I think we push our speed at the moment. But the other clubs push as well, the speed. And now we come to the final 10 metres, and hopefully we are a little bit in front, we have a photo-finish, and we win this race."

Both the Star and Witcoop have said that Wednesday have been confident all along about bringing Ugbo back to Hillsborough, even with the slight bumps in the road that have appeared along the way.

The 25-year-old played a big role in helping the club survive relegation last season. His rich vein of form from early February to early March kick-started their fight back to the safety zone, which was sealed with a final-day victory away against the club that they've been mainly battling with for him.

Sheffield Wednesday needed a striker signing

Pre-season form should always be taken with a pinch of salt. Those games are mainly used to get players up to speed for the season, all while avoiding injuries.

But, even with the arrivals of players like Jamal Lowe and Charlie McNeill, Wednesday still looked to be lacking a true number nine. After beating Alfreton Town 2-0 in their first friendly, they only scored twice in the following four fixtures.

What role Ugbo will be able to play, and how quickly he'll be able to do it, if all goes well from here with the move, remains to be seen. Troyes have only played two pre-season games so far this summer, neither of which the Canadian has been involved in.

Chances are that he'll need to be bedded in and worked up to match fitness. That will come eventually. Wednesday have just got to hope that, in the meantime, they can find somebody who can find the back of the net consistently.