Young Aston Villa man Zépiqueno Redmond is a Huddersfield Town player after a deadline day loan move was sealed - but not after interest from Sheffield Wednesday.
The young forward is new to English football having made the switch from Dutch giants Feyenoord to Villa Park as a free agent earlier this summer. Aged just 19, The Star understands the powerful forward was of interest to a number of clubs over the last weeks of the window - with Wednesday among them.
Reports started to filter out over the weekend that League One side Huddersfield were confident of securing a deal to take the youngster to West Yorkshire ahead of the deadline. But a decision was delayed over the weekend while the landscape became clearer for suitor clubs including the Owls.
Sheffield Wednesday faced grave challenges on deadline day. Pic: Getty Images.placeholder image
Sheffield Wednesday faced grave challenges on deadline day. Pic: Getty Images. | Getty Images
Playing time is believed to have been a driving factor in the decision to allow Redmond into the EFL on a temporary basis and with Wednesday’s squad of threadbare nature, the prospect of a switch to Hillsborough is thought to have been enticing to all parties given their Championship status.
How realistic the prospect of the deal became as time went stretched into deadline day is not exactly clear, but sources suggest it is felt a deal could ultimately have been done in the window had circumstances allowed. Restrictions placed on Wednesday’s incoming recruitment cost them a fair shot at a number of players, with Manchester United defender Harry Amass the only deal done late on in the window - in no small part thanks to his parent club’s own financial commitment to the completion of the deal.
The Owls’ recruitment team had lined up a number of deals that stood a chance of completion heading into deadline day only for the restrictions placed on the club’s efforts to stand in the way. Young Manchester City forward Jaden Heskey was revealed by The Star to be a central target and a deal is believed to have been agreed only for it to be blocked at the registration stage by the EFL owing to Wednesday’s inability to provide the necessary assurances financial commitments for the coming months could be upheld.
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