Calmness welcome as Sheffield Wednesday look to strike the right balance

Time was - and recently - when this window was billed for a major overhaul at Sheffield Wednesday. And with potentially more of the same to follow. The hallmark of the Danny Rohl regime so far is that the Owls are back to building, not dismantling.

Remarkably, considering the ongoing threat to the club’s Championship status, they can assess what they need from a relatively calm, considered position and even a 4-0 defeat at Southampton hasn’t changed that.

Besides, they’ve tried the alternative. Last summer’s managerial upheaval with an accompanying flurry of signings and the fringing of good players now back in the fold was the way not to go. At last it is all a lot more measured. A coming together of the existing squad has removed any air of desperation. But I like the fact that there has been urgency in another sense with signings being made early in January rather than being left to a mad scramble at the end.

Always, though, there is a balance in not wanting to upset what the club already had. Which is a team and purpose that, had it been in place across the whole season, might have been competing somewhere around mid-table. And that is testimony to Rohl and his coaches effectively improving every player.

Many of the summer signings have shown why they were recruited in the first place. Maybe they just needed time and a proper framework. The exceptions would be loanees Jeff Hendrick and John Buckley, plus Juan Delgado, while Ashley Fletcher still has much convincing to do. But it has proved far from the recruitment write-off that was feared at one time.

Anthony Musaba looks a special talent, as potentially does Djeidi Gassama. Bambo Diaby, Di’Shon Bernard, Pol Valentin and Mo Diaby are shaping as valuable contributors. And I still can’t work out what Devis Vasquez did wrong as the on-loan AC Milan keeper nears the exit following James Beadle’s arrival.

Which brings us to the essential of some players leaving to provide a better balance to trading than in the past. There is no bigger fan of Josh Windass than me but, for instance, if an offer from the US is deemed good money for a soon-to-be free agent then it is worth considering.

The pendulum is swinging against the 30 + brigade, as per Michael Smith and Lee Gregory. Again, there are sizeable wages that need offloading if Wednesday are not to use them. Individually, there is a case for keeping them all but, gradually, Rohl is eyeing a more youthful look for his zestful, high energy playing style.

Something has to give. The good thing, though, is that the Owls have worked themselves into non-panic mode about both incomings and outgoings. The calmness is welcome after such a turbulent six months.