Sheffield Wednesday suffered triple transfer frustration with striker - Sheffield United were the eventual £10m winners | OneFootball

Striker Tom Cannon was a long-term transfer target for Sheffield Wednesday, but he eventually joined their Steel City rivals Sheffield United.

It may seem like a lifetime since Sheffield Wednesday were able to operate as normal in the transfer market, but it was not that long ago that the Owls were competing with their Steel City rivals Sheffield United for the signing of striker Tom Cannon.

Amid a summer of chaos under former owner Dejphon Chansiri, Sheffield Wednesday lost a host of their star players, and they were only permitted to make two loan signings due to severe restrictions on their transfer business, leaving them with a threadbare squad.

After Chansiri's exit, the Owls were allowed to bring in two free agent signings in Liam Cooper and Nathan Redmond, and with new ownership moving ever closer, they could have their ban on paying transfer fees lifted as they exit administration in what would be a huge boost.

For now, the situation remains bleak for Wednesday, with relegation to League One a near certainty after they had a total of 18 points deducted, and while it has been a disappointing season so far for Sheffield United, the balance of power in the Steel City will remain at Bramall Lane for at least a few more years.

There is no doubt that the Blades have had the upper hand on the Owls on the pitch in recent times, but they also had the advantage over their near neighbours in the transfer market in January as they won the race for Cannon.

Sheffield United inflicted third Tom Cannon transfer miss on Sheffield Wednesday

Prior to his move to Sheffield United, Cannon was a long-term transfer target for Sheffield Wednesday, who had him on their radar on no less than three separate occasions.

Cannon was a relative unknown when the Owls first made a move for him in January 2023 during his time at Everton, and they were believed to be leading League One rivals Fleetwood Town and Oxford United in the race for his signature at one stage before Championship side Preston North End swooped.

It is difficult not to feel that Cannon would have been a huge asset for Wednesday in their automatic promotion race as he would have added some much-needed pace to their forward line, and while Darren Moore's men did eventually go up through the play-offs, the failure to bring in a younger striker contributed to them missing out on a place in the top two.

Cannon thrived at Deepdale as he scored eight goals in 21 appearances, so it was little surprise when he was linked with the Owls once again in the summer following their promotion, and they would have been confident that they were in a stronger position to land him now they were a Championship club.

However, Wednesday were eventually blown out of the water as newly-relegated Leicester City signed him for around £7.5 million, which was a fee that the South Yorkshire outfit simply could not compete with, particularly given Chansiri's reluctance to spend in the latter part of his tenure.

Cannon's time at the King Power Stadium did not go to plan, and he spent the first half of last season on loan at Stoke City, where he scored an impressive 11 goals in 25 appearances before being recalled by the Foxes in January.

The Owls were credited with an interest in Cannon as rumours circulated that his spell with the Potters could be terminated, but unfortunately for them, it seemed as though the vast majority of the Championship were also keen on the Republic of Ireland international, and rather than making it third time lucky, they suffered further frustration as he joined Sheffield United for a fee of £10 million.

Sheffield United had the last laugh after beating Sheffield Wednesday to Tom Cannon

If missing out on Cannon for the third time was not agonising enough for Sheffield Wednesday, it would have hurt even more to see him join their bitter rivals Sheffield United, particularly as his big money signing was seen as a major statement of intent by the club's new owners, COH Sports.

However, the Owls may have been feeling a little better about the situation as Cannon scored just one goal in 17 appearances for the Blades in the second half of last season as they fell short of automatic promotion and lost to Sunderland in the play-off final.

Cannon's underwhelming start to life at Bramall Lane continued into this season as he played a bit-part role at the start of the campaign under Ruben Selles, and his game time initially remained limited after the return of Chris Wilder in September, despite the 58-year-old being the manager who signed him in January.

After a tough year, Cannon finally announced himself properly in a United shirt when he scored the third goal of his side's 3-0 demolition of Wednesday in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough in November, and the irony will certainly not have been lost on the Owls that the final blow was dealt by a player who they had previously chased for two years.

Wilder admitted post-match that he hoped the goal would help to "lighten the load" on Cannon and provide a "boost" to his faltering Blades career, and on the early evidence, that certainly seems to have been the case, with the striker looking like a player transformed since breaking his duck for the season.