Sheffield Wednesday must laugh at new Sheffield United transfer situation | OneFootball

Mark McGuinness looks set to leave Bramall Lane in some form before September 1st

In recent times, it has been Sheffield United who have ruled the roost over their Steel City rivals, Sheffield Wednesday in terms of trajectory, but now those at Hillsborough will be hoping the roles are, again, reversed in the near future following David Storch's takeover.

Indeed, the Owls may have had to take a step back into League One in order to move forward, but the early signs are certainly bright for those in S6, with a chairman who is making all the right noises both on and off the pitch.

A glut of permanent and loan signings have already been made as Henrik Pedersen looks to oversee the first part of his rebuilding job after suffering immensely in the past 12 months through financial uncertainty, points deductions and several restrictions in the transfer market.

Meanwhile, across Sheffield, it has been somewhat of a turbulent beginning to the 2026/27 campaign for Chris Wilder and the Blades, with the 58-year-old also hoping to oversee a successful squad reshuffle in the first full season of his third spell as boss.

Wilder returned to S2 last September after United lost all six of Ruben Selles' competitive matches in charge, but inconsistency remained a major theme at Bramall Lane as the club finished 13th.

And, whilst off-field controversies continue to dominate headlines, a handful of players have come through the door, as well as departed, including academy graduate, Andre Brooks, who joined divisional rivals, Norwich City.

But, it is fair to say that, even whilst they are a division below, Wednesday supporters may be enjoying some recent transfer news coming out of United, with Mark McGuinness' future appearing to be away from South Yorkshire.

Mark McGuinness endured a difficult first season with Sheffield United as exit talk emerges

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The Republic of Ireland international has had a mixed career thus far after coming through Arsenal's academy setup, and it is fair to say that such feats have continued since his switch to the Blades from Luton Town on a four-year contract following the Hatters' fall into League One.

Beforehand, the centre-back had been acquired by Luton for a reported £10m fee from Cardiff City after they were initially promoted to the Premier League in the summer of 2023 under Rob Edwards.

As previously mentioned, Wilder returned to S2 10 months ago in a bid to repair the club's damaging start to the season, and this was emphasised when a handful of Selles' recruits, such as Louie Barry - now of Wednesday - and Ben Godfrey, saw their loans from Aston Villa and Atlanta cut short after less than six months at the club.

Meanwhile, alongside McGuinness, Japhet Tanganga was signed from Millwall for a substantial fee and went on to impress, whilst Tyler Bindon grew in confidence and performance levels as the campaign drew on after being loaned in from Nottingham Forest.

However, the former of the trio became the subject of exit talk in May, with reports suggesting that United could move him on for a fee of between £4m and £5m, and such a stance doesn't appear to have changed in pre-season, with it being claimed that he and defensive colleague, Nils Zatterstrom could, at least, be loaned out.

This comes after McGuinness played just 25 times, with his solitary goal coming against Stoke City on December 6th.

Such exit talk also comes at an interesting period, as he started all of last season's final six games after going just shy of two months without a Championship appearance.

Sheffield Wednesday saw what Sheffield United fans haven't in Mark McGuinness back in 2023

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As such, it is clearly those at Hillsborough out of the Steel City rivals who were left impressed by McGuinness, who was loaned to Darren Moore's side in August 2022.

His impact on Wednesday's rearguard during the early months of their dramatic play-off winning season was immediate too, as they kept three clean sheets in his first four appearances.

But, after previously being handed a breakthrough season with Cardiff after moving from Arsenal, the defender's standout performance for the Owls proved to be one of his last, as they defeated Newcastle United, who went on to qualify for the UEFA Champions League just months later, 2-1 in a famous FA Cup third round tie.

McGuinness was then an ever-present for the South Wales side for the remainder of said campaign, which ultimately paved the way for his moves to Luton and then Bramall Lane.