Sheffield Wednesday interested in loan deal for veteran midfielder - Aston Villa once paid £11m for him | OneFootball

Zimbabwe international Marvelous Nakamba is another player on the Owls' radar

Sheffield Wednesday are looking to make fresh additions to their squad before the February 2 transfer deadline - but it is likely that it is going to come at a cost.

The Owls are pretty much playing for pride for the final few months of the 2025-26 Championship season and are likely going to be confirmed as a League One club sooner rather than later thanks to their financial issues and going into administration.

Players have been departing Hillsborough this month in a bid to raise funds, with long-serving captain Barry Bannan and teenager Yisa Alao both already gone to Millwall and Chelsea respectively.

The likes of Bailey Cadamarteri and Svante Ingelsson could be next to go as several clubs chase their signatures, whilst Ike Ugbo is on the chopping block and free to move on for the right deal - it will open up some squad spaces though that head coach Henrik Pedersen will hope to fill with loan players, having already signed Jaden Heskey from Man City and Murphy Cooper from QPR in January.

Marvelous Nakamba eyed up by Sheffield Wednesday for second Luton Town raid

Wednesday look set to add Luton Town striker Jerry Yates to their ranks for the rest of the season with a medical pencilled in, and the experienced striker could be a short-term replacement for Cadamarteri as Blackburn Rovers are close to agreeing a fee for the Jamaica international.

Yates isn't the only Luton player that Wednesday are eyeing up though, with the Sheffield Star revealing that Marvelous Nakamba is also on the club's radar if more loan spots are opened up to them by the EFL.

'Exploratory talks' have taken place in regards to signing the 32-year-old, as per The Star's report, with the Owls needing to add some experience to their engine room after Bannan's departure, and rumours are rife that Ingelsson, as well as versatile defender/midfielder Yan Valery, could be sold before the deadline.

Zimbabwe international Nakamba - who has amassed 36 caps for his country - arrived in England in 2019 at Aston Villa for a fee of £11 million from Club Brugge, but he moved on to Luton in 2023 after three-and-a-half years in the Midlands.

Nakamba played a big part in Luton's promotion to the Premier League that year, but a knee injury restricted his outings in the top flight in the 2023-24 season, and after appearing 21 times in the Hatters' second relegation campaign in succession in 2024-25, he has appeared just once in League One and has only appeared in the EFL Trophy since October 2025.

With a contract at Kenilworth Road that is expiring come the end of the season, Nakamba's time at Town looks all-but over, and Wednesday could potentially give him a shop window to impress for a few months before he becomes a free agent.

Marvelous Nakamba could add some much-needed experience to Sheffield Wednesday's ranks

The final few days of the transfer window could be incredibly painful for Sheffield Wednesday fans - having already seen club icon Bannan depart, first-team regulars like Ingelsson, Cadamarteri and Valery are now in the firing line due to the fact that James Bord's takeover bid hasn't progressed yet.

And the only likely way they're going to be replaced is with short-term deals or loans due to the fact the club are still in administration - so beggers cannot be choosers in this case.

With their place in next season's League One pretty much sealed, Sheffield Wednesday just need bodies on the pitch at this point instead of their youngsters being flogged, and Nakamba - if he's fit - could be a decent option for the rest of the season.

Pedersen has missed the experience of Nathaniel Chalobah since the very start of the season, so bringing in someone like Nakamba for a few months will surely tide them over - if a deal can be struck of course.