Garry Monk on Sheffield Wednesday's centre forward search

The Owls have brought in Elias Kachunga and Jish Windass to add to their striking department, with Monk confirming that primarily he regards both as centre forward options this week.

But with Steven Fletcher, Fernando Forestieri and Atdhe Nuhiu no longer at the club and loanee Connor Wickham back at parent club Crystal Palace, Wednesday are still lacking, by common consent, another genuine 'number nine' option.

Monk acknowledged: "It’s an area of the pitch that we know we need to strengthen. It's a short pre-season and we start our first cup game in a few days time and then we are into the first league game.

"As a manager, you always want everything done as early as possible, but it’s not always as simple as that. There are other things that go on that can delay that.

"You try and identify players early, which is what we have done and it’s a process then. Some can be done quicker than others but, of course, it is an area of the pitch that we need to strengthen.

The two that have come (this week) have helped strengthen that area of the pitch. This is the start of the transition, it might take a little more time whether it’s this window or the next to fully get that transition but I think we have made a good start to it."

On the prospect of any more signings at the top end of the pitch, he added: "There’s nothing at the moment. Everyone is working hard behind the scenes but it’s not easy.

"When you are working in the market that we are, there is a lot of competition. When there is a lot of competition, it becomes a lot more expensive.

"We are working behind the scenes to try and identify players that we feel can help the group that we already have and that is an ongoing process."