How much Sheffield Wednesday actually paid for Ike Ugbo as exit talk emerges | OneFootball

As speculation gathers pace about a potential Sheffield Wednesday exit for Ike Ugbo, we look back at how much the Owls paid for the striker.

As their nightmare season continues, it is fair to say that it has been a difficult January transfer window for Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday are still in administration as the wait goes on to discover whether their proposed takeover by James Bord's consortium will be given approval by the EFL, and that has had a big impact on their transfer business this month.

The Owls have been given permission to sign two new players, with goalkeeper Murphy Cooper and midfielder Jaden Heskey joining on loan from QPR and Manchester City respectively, but as player sales are needed to help bring in funds for the rest of the season, the main focus has been on outgoings.

Talented young defender Yisa Alao departed Hillsborough earlier this week to join Chelsea for a fee of around £500,000, and long-serving captain Barry Bannan is set to follow him out of the exit door as he closes in on a move to Millwall.

Wednesday could lose more of their stars before the end of the window, with Yan Valery, Max Lowe, Charlie McNeill and Bailey Cadamarteri all believed to be on the radar of other clubs, but it seems that striker Ike Ugbo is one player they are keen to move on.

Ike Ugbo could leave Sheffield Wednesday in January after Hillsborough nightmare

Ugbo initially joined Wednesday on loan from French side Troyes in January 2024, and he scored seven goals in 19 appearances in the second half of the 2023-24 season to help the club pull off a great escape from relegation, with many of those strikes earning crucial points in their battle against the drop.

After a lengthy transfer saga, Ugbo eventually returned to Hillsborough on a permanent basis in the summer, but it has not worked out for him since making the full-time switch to South Yorkshire.

Ugbo failed to score a single league goal in 34 appearances for the Owls last season, and the only time he got on the scoresheet in the entire campaign was in an EFL Cup second round victory at Grimsby Town.

With many of Wednesday's forward players leaving the club during their choatic summer under former owner Dejphon Chansiri, Ugbo may have been hoping for an upturn in fortunes this season, but he has once again struggled to make an impact.

Ugbo's only goal in 21 appearances in all competitions this season came in the first round of the EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers, and while he was not a regular starter even when fit, he has been sidelined since the middle of December with a hamstring injury.

After a frustrating 18 months, it seems that Ugbo could be on the move before the end of the January window, with The Star reporting that the Owls could send him out on loan amid interest from clubs in America, Canada and Belgium.

How much Sheffield Wednesday paid for Ike Ugbo amid January exit speculation

The fact that Ugbo has failed to score a single league goal since joining the club permanently is disappointing enough for Wednesday, but the significant transfer fee they paid for his services will only make the situation even more frustrating.

It is believed that the Owls paid around £2.5 million to sign Ugbo in August 2024, and that figure certainly raised a few eyebrows given Chansiri's long-standing reluctance to invest in the transfer market.

Indeed, the sum Wednesday spent on Ugbo was the highest fee they had paid since splashing out £3 million on defender Joost van Aken almost seven years earlier, which underlines just how much of a shift the deal represented from Chansiri's usual transfer policy.

It is likely that the level of competition for Ugbo's signature increased his price tag, with Sunderland, Stoke City, Birmingham City and QPR all said to have been keen on the Canada international after his impressive loan spell at Hillsborough, but the quartet may now feel they dodged a bullet by missing out to the Owls.

To make matters worse for Wednesday, Ugbo is estimated to take home £20,000-a-week and £1,040,000-a-year, which makes him one of the club's biggest earners, so it is easy to see why they are looking to offload him this month amid their current financial predicament, although they may still have to contribute to some of his salary if he departs on loan.