Sheffield Wednesday have quite a big squad with around 26 first-team players under contract, and that’s something manager Garry Monk will need to consider during the early part of 2020.
There are so many options that a player with 35 games to his name, one that can play a multitude of positions, struggles to even make the bench regularly this season.
His name is Jordan Thorniley.
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After being released at Everton, ex-boss Carlos Carvalhal soon snapped him up but his career is far from going in the right direction at the age of just 23.
He’s able to play both central defence and left-back, the former has seen more of the share of his appearances, though.
Monk currently only has one senior option on the left side in Morgan Fox, so Thorniley could be the man to provide depth to the role, but during his only two EFL Cup appearances this season, the 5 foot 11 defender has played as a centre-back.
The Owls can call upon Dominic Iorfa, skipper Tom Lees, Julian Borner, David Bates and even Sam Hutchinson if need be, so it seems unlikely that he’s a long-term option in the middle.
Fox’s contract is due to expire in the summer, and there’s plenty of interest from rival clubs in him while the 23-year-old has another 18 months to go.
He may need to go out on loan this January to get some valuable game time, prove his worth to Monk and kickstart the revival of his Owls career.
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Last season under Jos Luhukay, Thorniley made 17 league appearances and then could only feature three more times after the Dutchman was sacked, per Transfermarkt.
That’s the last time he had a proper run out in this team.
The only way he could feature this season appears to be if an injury crisis strikes down on the team, so a loan move for the final six months of the campaign would surely benefit all parties.
Meanwhile, Alan Nixon believes this is where Sheffield Wednesday will look to target in the January transfer window…