Sheffield Wednesday: Lucas Joao seals Blackburn Rovers loan switch

The Owls striker missed a large part of the first half of the campaign due to injury and has scored only once. His last Championship goal came 11 months ago in a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Brentford.

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But Joao, born in Luanda, Angola, will be seeking to kick-start his career again at Blackburn Rovers after joining the Lancashire club on loan until the end of the season. Rovers completed the deal last night, beating off strong competition from Wigan Athletic to land the 23-year-old.

Joao is Rovers’ first January addition and is a player well known to the club’s Director of Football Operations Paul Senior, who worked at Hillsborough last season. Joao could make his debut in their home clash with Leeds United tomorrow night.

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Although Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal is a big fan of Joao’s qualities, he acknowledges the former Nacional forward has experienced plenty of “ups and downs” since joining the Championship club in July 2015.

Carvalhal believes Joao must add consistency to his game to fulfil his potential.

“I have tried to manage the expectations of the boy,” he told The Star. “Lucas is a young player with a big talent.

“He’s a player with a lot of abilities.

“He can score more goals in the competition when he learns to be more consistent.

“I can’t accept that a player is very good for three or four weeks and after is very bad. There is a middle in everything.”

Wide man Modou Sougou is set to join Portuguese club Moreirense on loan until the end of the season.

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