David Bruce drops new Sheffield Wednesday transfer update | OneFootball

New Sheffield Wednesday CEO knows that the club have to be aggressive in the upcoming summer transfer window

Ahead of the summer transfer window opening on June 15, Sheffield Wednesday have been working tirelessly in the background to lay down foundations to attack the market as soon as possible.

While David Storch cannot yet pursue new player signings, he has been adding new names to his boardroom, announcing David Bruce as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Bruce was unveiled at Hillsborough alongside the new ownership group on the final day, but it wasn't until Monday evening that his appointment was officially confirmed.

The new CEO left Sunderland to join up with Wednesday. At the Stadium of Light, he worked as the Chief Business Officer, leading the club's successes off the field, which supported Regis Le Bris' side's return to the Premier League, in which they successfully staved off relegation in their first year back.

David Bruce believes Sheffield Wednesday have to be "aggressive and active" when the transfer window opens

Understandably, there is plenty of excitement to see what Bruce can do at Hillsborough, and that was emphasised by his clear attitude towards improving the playing squad, which he outlined in his first interview with the club.

The Owls' squad was gutted this time last summer after players departed following late wage payments and an inability by former owner Dejphon Chansiri to replace them. That led to a record-low points total in the Championship and plenty of emergency loan signings being made, who have since returned to their parent clubs.

The retained list outlined just 18 senior contracted players, not including those who have been offered new deals. But even if they all accepted fresh terms, Bruce knows there's a lot of work to be done to improve the squad and get it ready to attack League One in August.

"The football side is hugely, hugely important," said Bruce, per the Sheffield Star. "We've got some work to do there with Henrik and the team. We announced our retained list on Saturday. We've got some work in the market to do. We've got lists that are emerging.

"We've got playing styles that we want to bring to life in League One, we've got a base of players that are going to be coming back next season, but we have to be really aggressive and active in the marketplace, and we will, and hopefully we will as soon as the window opens.

"We've got some interest in our players, as you would expect. We've got some good young players, we've got some players who have played at a much higher level and might not want to be with us for the League One journey, so we have to be considerate of that.

"So we're going to be really active on the football side, so hopefully there will be a lot of news and good news to come out of that area of our business as well."

Sheffield Wednesday's next key signing will be a new sporting director, says David Bruce

Ultimately, though, for the club to be aggressive in their pursuit of the players they want to fit an attractive style next season, they need to have their new sporting director in place.

Stockport County CEO Simon Wilson has been heavily touted for that role, with him leaving Edgeley Park in the summer after seven years with the Hatters, a stint which has seen them go from the National League North to, depending on the result of Sunday's League One play-off final, the Championship.

While not specifically mentioning Wilson, David Bruce did share his optimism about the work being put in place to bring the exciting sporting director through the door at Hillsborough.

"We're working really hard on our preferred candidate," he continued. "There's still some work to be done there, but we've identified a candidate that we really like, who will be a brilliant fit for the football club.

"He's got great experience and track record in the game, someone who I think I can work wonderfully well with, who I can partner wonderfully well with, as well as the manager and everyone over at the training ground.

"So, we're optimistic. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, we'll have some good news there as well."

Likely, the fact that Stockport's season is yet to be concluded will be a barrier to getting Wilson in as soon as Wednesday would have ideally wanted, but there's still excitement as and when terms are agreed.

Optimism and hope haven't been synonymous with Sheffield Wednesday for quite some time, and with the Owls seemingly aware of where they need to improve and the profile of player they want to target as they return to the third tier, things are looking positive.

Time will tell whether it will result in immediate promotion back to the Championship, but even if it doesn't, there'll easily be more to celebrate next season than there was in 2025/26.