Burton Albion v Sheffield Wednesday: Owls do not have money for likes of Snodgrass, says Carvalhal

Activity has been minimal at Hillsborough, with the Owls ever mindful of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, which limit second-tier clubs to losses of no more than £13m per season over a three-year period.

Alongside the addition of George Boyd, the only other recruit has been defender Frederico Venancio, who has received international clearance to play in this afternoon’s match at the Pirelli Stadium.

The Owls have been linked with countless players, the latest of which is West Ham winger Robert Snodgrass who yesterday joined Aston Villa on loan, but head coach Carvalhal quickly rubbished such speculation.

He said: “Never (did) we mention this player. Never. First, it’s not a question of the (quality of) the player.

“First, because we don’t have money to bring him.

“So when we think we (have identified) good players and we want them, but we see that we don’t have the money to bring them, why (would) we put them into consideration?

“It is why Snodgrass never was in our plans, not because of his quality but because of the financial situation.

“It is the same if you ask me if we put into consideration (Eden) Hazard from Chelsea.”

Burton have been bracketed among the Championship relegation candidates as they were in 2016-17, but Carvalhal is entitled to be wary of that fact, especially given that the Brewers claimed four points against his side last term, including a 3-1 win in Staffordshire last August.

Carvalhal added: “They deserved to win that game and during the season they confirmed that they are a very hard team to play in that stadium.

“It is what we expect on Saturday. They are a very hard team to play against and it is one of the more difficult pitches to play on in this competition. We know better the opponent, (but) they know better about us too.”