Sheffield Wednesday take PFA action to resolve transfer situation | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen is hopeful that the Owls will have some transfer relief this month

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has revealed that the club has been in contact with the Professional Footballers' Association in an attempt to obtain some relief from their current transfer restrictions.

The senior players at Hillsborough have had their fitness truly tested over the Christmas schedule, with Wednesday, like other Championship sides, playing four games in 10 days, ending with Sunday's trip to QPR.

The Wednesday chief had his request to bring in new personnel on loan in the ongoing January transfer window knocked back by the EFL, despite 13 senior players being absent for their Boxing Day draw with Hull City due to injuries and international commitments.

And while Sean Fusire, who was one of the Wednesday representatives at AFCON with Zimbabwe, made his return to the side in Thursday's defeat to Preston North End, it came at a cost, as he replaced an injured Liam Cooper five minutes out from half-time.

Pedersen revealed that the groin injury is "not good" post-match, and has now seemingly taken further action to try and get his side some help via some bodies through the door in the winter window.

Henrik Pedersen contacts PFA about ongoing Sheffield Wednesday issue

According to the Sheffield Star's Alex Miller, Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen has contacted the PFA over player welfare concerns, with it being thought that the injury to Cooper, who only joined the club in November after the Owls were granted two free transfer arrivals, will heighten the concerns.

Pedersen revealed this following Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at Preston on New Year's Day, which put an end to a rare unbeaten run after the side picked up back-to-back draws to end 2025.

Miller explains that the Owls hope that "they will at some stage be allowed to bring in players on a freebie loan basis similar to [Harry] Amass' deal."

Amass was one of two new arrivals at Hillsborough this summer, in the midst of a truly awful few months in the final moments of former owner Dejphon Chansiri. The squad was gutted due to contract breaches, and were already fighting an uphill battle to stay in the division before the club were docked 12 points after entering administration.

James Bord has been chosen as the preferred bidder to take over the club in due course, once he passes the EFL's Owners and Directors' test, but while the club are still in administration, it's still unknown whether the club will be allowed to make any deals this January.

Regardless, Sheffield Wednesday are still under a fee restriction, placed on them in June following late payments being made by Chansiri.

Although it has been reported that there's hope in the Hillsborough camp that this could be lifted ahead of the summer window if a takeover is finalised.

Sheffield Wednesday will still have hurdles to overcome if PFA grant them transfer relief

There'll be some hope that the player welfare concerns raised by Pedersen and Sheffield Wednesday will be taken into consideration by the PFA, but even if the Owls can make loan signings, there'll still be some hurdles to overcome.

Alex Miller states that these freebie loan deals "depend on the generosity of parent clubs," and while sides in the Premier League will see the progression of Manchester United's Amass during his loan spell at Wednesday as a good thing, there's a certainty that anyone else in the division interested in their players would be able to offer a better financial package.

Even Amass' future itself isn't confirmed just yet, with Miller reporting that other Championship clubs are interested in paying a fee to take him on loan from the Premier League giants for the remainder of the campaign.

Additionally, there's an expectation that these deals won't be made until the end of the month, similar to Amass in the summer window, meaning that Wednesday's already tired squad will need to endure an equally busy January schedule before they even get a chance at a reprieve.

There'll be optimism if the PFA take sympathy and convinces the EFL to lift their transfer stance over the coming days, but even then, there'll be some extra battles to fight to even bring in a few new faces across the month.