Sheffield Wednesday should take advantage of Derby County transfer update | OneFootball

The Owls could bolster their squad with the addition of Corey Blackett-Taylor, who could be set to leave Derby County this summer

Nine new arrivals have been confirmed at Sheffield Wednesday this summer, but there's still a lot of work to be done to bulk out the side ahead of the new season.

The Owls are beginning life back in League One this summer with a newfound optimism under the Arise ownership. Thus far, David Storch and co have hit all the right notes when it comes to giving the club much-needed upgrades both on and off the field.

One of the most important points of concern at the start of their tenure was the state of the playing squad, which had been decimated over the previous 12 months due to neglect in the final months of the Dejphon Chansiri reign and the administration which followed.

Only a handful of senior players were contracted in mid-May, with plenty of the experience in the squad last year returning to their parent clubs at the end of loan spells.

First-team players were needed, but so were squad players, too, if Henrik Pedersen's side were going to, first, ensure they remained in League One, and then push further forward towards promotion contention.

The majority of the nine players who have arrived at Hillsborough, you'd expect, will be starters, no more so than Louie Barry, who scored 15 times in just 23 games at the level two seasons ago.

Sheffield Wednesday should target Corey Blackett-Taylor after Derby County update

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However, currently, Barry is the only recognised left-sided attacker in the Wednesday squad, and you'd imagine that Henrik Pedersen will be on the lookout for another before their League One curtain-raiser at Leyton Orient on August 15.

The Owls should look no further than Derby County's Corey Blackett-Taylor to fill that role, who could be on his way out of Pride Park this summer.

The 28-year-old has a solid third-tier record, scoring eight times for Charlton Athletic in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, prompting a move to a Derby side primed for promotion midway through the latter.

In the Championship, though, Blackett-Taylor has struggled for games, whether that be due to injury or just being unfavoured. He was loaned out in January to promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers, scored twice and assisted once in seven games before injury struck again in March, leaving him out for the rest of the season.

The wideman is back at Pride Park now, where he's working his way back to fitness after recovering from that thigh injury, but it's been reported that the Rams are open to offers for him, especially with him entering the final year of his deal.

There's no doubt about the quality that Blackett-Taylor has at League One level; he just needs to remain fit. If he could find that at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday could have themselves yet another strong depth option heading into the new season.

Corey Blackett-Taylor could back up Louie Barry perfectly in Henrik Pedersen's new hinted Sheffield Wednesday system

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In a behind-closed-doors matchup with Preston North End last Saturday, Henrik Pedersen opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, as the Owls are expected to be a little more front-footed now that they're back in League One.

If that proves to be the formation that we see Wednesday use in the third tier next season, there'd be no doubt that Barry would be the left-sided attacker behind the main striker. Indeed, the 23-year-old scored against the Lilywhites from that position.

However, there is no other natural left-winger at the club currently, and while the hope will be that Barry can remain fit after a truly terrible time with injuries over the last 18 months, there'll need to be cover anyway throughout a long 46-game season.

Having Blackett-Taylor in reserve wouldn't put too much pressure on the 28-year-old to play each week, given his own injury issues in recent seasons, but he would offer real quality off the bench that not many other third-tier sides will have.

Bolton saw how much of an impact he could make when brought on against tiring legs, scoring and assisting in their dramatic 3-2 comeback win against Wycombe Wanderers at the Toughsheet in March, and he could easily have a similar influence off the bench at Hillsborough.

And, if Barry did go down with an injury or needed to be rested, Blackett-Taylor would ensure that the quality in the squad remains, as Wednesday