Why Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa transfer really fell through revealed | OneFootball

The details behind Sheffield Wednesday's transfer miss involving Aston Villa have become clearer in a new update

Sheffield Wednesday are undertaking an action-packed window of activity as David Storch bids to revamp the playing squad and arm Henrik Pedersen with a side capable of achieving promotion at the very first attempt after completing his takeover of the Steel City outfit back in May.

Storch inherited a roster in ruins and is going to some lengths to stop the rot and rebuild the club from the mess that unpopular ex-owner Dejphon Chansiri left behind in devastating fashion, with a flurry of players having touched down at Hillsborough in recent weeks.

Wednesdayites were awash with excitement upon the return of modern-day Owls legend Barry Bannan following a brief spell away from S6 with Millwall, whereas Joe Lumley has also re-joined and the likes of Harry Gray, Jordi Liongola, Billy Mitchell, Ricardo Santos, Callum Slattery have all bolstered Pedersen's squad ahead of a hopeful promotion bid in League One.

Two deals have been struck with Aston Villa, too, which has seen both Sil Swinkels and former Sheffield United loanee Louie Barry arrive at Wednesday in permanent swoops, while Hull City's Mason Burstow is separately closing in on a move to the club, according to reports.

There was, however, another impending agreement with the Villans, which has since fallen through in a rare recent transfer blow for the Owls - and the reason why has now been revealed in a new update.

Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa transfer truth involving Tommi O'Reilly revealed

At the start of last week, Football League World exclusively revealed the emergence of Aston Villa academy product Tommi O'Reilly as a serious target for Sheffield Wednesday, disclosing talks between the two clubs involving the playmaker's mooted switch to the Owls.

Discussions then pushed forward in an effort to bring O'Reilly to Hillsborough, with the versatile 22-year-old having surfaced as a courted property after impressing on loan at League Two side Crewe Alexandra by registering seven goals and 13 assists across all competitions last season.

However, The Star reported on Friday that O'Reilly's proposed move to Wednesday was unlikely and a subsequent report from the same publication has offered fresh insight on why the deal has failed to materialise, with the talented wide-man now reportedly set to join League One rivals Notts County on loan.

As per the latest reports, talks were undertaken with senior Owls figures including Pedersen, regarding O'Reilly's prospective role in the Dane's side. However, it's said that discussions did not align, which resulted in an amicable breakdown in negotiations.

O'Reilly was reportedly enticed by the possibility of playing at Hillsborough, perhaps serving as no surprise given the new-found attraction in joining Wednesday discussed by a host of arrivals in the Storch era to date.

Capable of playing off the right-hand side and in attacking midfield, O'Reilly's positional flexibility could have presented a potential dilemma to Pedersen, and while the exact details of the collapsed move remain somewhat unknown, it's clear that both parties couldn't find a way to make the deal work and Wednesday will now return to the drawing board to advance for other targets.

Sheffield Wednesday will hope they're not haunted by Sheffield Wednesday, Tommi O'Reilly transfer miss

Considering the scale of the mission when Storch stepped foot in the club, Sheffield Wednesday arguably couldn't have asked for a more positive and uplifting summer transfer window to date.

Further business will be required in order for the Owls to reach their ambitions next season, but they've been able to complete a raft of exciting deals while addressing numerous positions, blending both youth and experience into their their all-action recruitment approach - and that's resulted in the return of a real feel-good factor among supporters and players alike.

There's really not much to complain about, but while the reasoning behind O'Reilly's collapsed move makes sense, the risk of this one coming back to bite Wednesday remains and it was a deal which many Owls fans were desperate to see completed.

An impressive technically-gifted talent with a high ceiling, versatility and a strong existing body of work in the EFL, O'Reilly would've been a floor-raising addition capable of offering a new dimension to the Owls' forward line.

Their loss, then, could just be Notts County's gain, with the Magpies' imminent capture of the sought-after youngster representing an impressive coup for a newly-promoted outfit - and Wednesdayites will be keeping one eye on him when they face the Nottinghamshire-based side next term, should the deal go through as expected.