Sheffield Wednesday opinion: Should the Owls hold onto Lucas Joao?

English news outlet Birmingham Live have reported that Sheffield Wednesday are ready to let forward Lucas Joao leave the club.

The 25-year-old centre-forward has been in good form for the club, yet he has only played 37% of the available minutes this season. As things stand, he is the club’s second highest scorer this season, behind Steven Fletcher.

However, injuries and other issues have seen the forward dropped out of the team and that has affected both the club and the centre-forward himself. His performances have dipped and more importantly, Joao hasn’t played in the last seven games for the Championship side.

All of these circumstances point towards a player who might be on his way out. However, given the state of Sheffield Wednesday’s front line, that is not a move that they can seriously consider.

Barring Steven Fletcher, who is the club’s top scorer; manager Steven Bruce has Atdhe Nuhiu, Jack Stobbs, Sam Winnall, and Gary Hooper at his disposal. Yet, they have only managed to score 3 goals, with Nuhiu scoring all three.

It shows how badly the club have missed a consistent goalscorer, which is exactly what Lucas Joao can become for them, with consistent game-time. The 25-year-old has shown that he has the talent to help the Owls move up the ladder, if given a chance to prove himself.

At the moment, the Owls sit in 12^th place and have an outside chance of making a promotion playoff spot. They are only six points behind 6^th place Bristol City and while they’ve only managed to win one of their last five games, Sheffield Wednesday still have a outside chance.

Next season, things will get even harder, with Fulham and Huddersfield returning back to the Championship. Competition is only going to get harder, that means that they cannot lose someone as talented as Lucas Joao.

Last season, they finished in 15^th place, with one more point than they have right now and that shows a slight improvement.

Read More Sheffield Wednesday news, click here: Sheffield Wednesday latest news

Conclusion

The Owls have an outside chance of making a promotion playoff spot but they need to start thinking about next season. Letting players like Lucas Joao leave would not be a smart way of moving forward, especially if they ever want to make it back into the Premier League.

Sheffield Wednesday were relegated at the end of 1999/00 season and have struggled to make it back since.