Lawyers and scouts will be key players for Sheffield Wednesday this summer

A 19-year-old midfielder without a senior appearance was an unassuming addition, and a good one. It was hard to know if the brother of Watford’s Tom would go straight into the first team or be given time to feel his way in, but with Manchester City’s academy on his CV, he looked to have quality and hopefully the hunger to progress his career by cutting the apron strings.

Another from his City academy year-group, Keyendrah Simmonds, has also been linked.

It was shaping up to be a season of taking a step backwards to move forwards.

After years of cluttering the squad with “proven” performers and having nothing to show for it but debt, manager Garry Monk identified the need for a younger, cheaper and hungrier squad, capable of developing together into the core of a promotion-winning unit rather than something thrown together for a quick fix. The foundations – footballing and financial – were not in place for that.

But on Friday, an independent disciplinary commission changed everything. A 12-point deduction for breaching profitability and sustainability rules for the manner and timing of Hillsborough’s sale and lease back ensured taking a step backwards in 2020-21 will mean dropping into League One. Although the Owls have already spent three seasons at that level in the 21st Century, a fourth should be a no-no for a club of their stature.

Suddenly youngsters like Dele-Bashiru, Alex Hunt, Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide might need a few more older heads to guide them through the difficult slog of a Championship relegation battle than we thought.

Signing those players could be more difficult.

Last season Middlesbrough tried to go in roughly the sort of direction Wednesday are looking at now and it took eight end-of-season matches of Neil Warnock’s tough love to scrape their place in next season’s division. Huddersfield Town are also going to be more youth-orientated under Carlos Corberan next term, but they will start 12 points ahead of Wednesday.

It would have been better all round if the commission could have reached its decision sooner so everyone knew where they stood at the end of the campaign. These are complicated matters and a global pandemic hardly helped, but the Owls were charged in November, and even the gap between the hearing and verdict was excruciating

Wednesday might well appeal – they have been scathing about the “unlawful” charge from the off – once their lawyers have combed through the written reasons and even if they do not, Charlton Athletic not unreasonably want to stick their oar in, given that this delayed punishment could mean the difference between relegation or not for them in the season just gone. If we find out later this week that Wigan Athletic have overturned their own 12-point deduction and put Barnsley into the Championship’s bullet seat, expect them to do likewise. Why would they not having worked so hard to stay in the division?

So sympathy should be in short supply for Wednesday (the club, not their fans) if an appeal confirms they did break the rules in pushing through a financial fair play loophole, but delaying their punishment extends it in many ways.

The advantages of being a big club with the potential to push for and maybe even settle in the Premier League if they can get the on-field chemistry right is outweighed by the fact any new recruits will effectively be signing up for a relegation battle. Youngsters like Dele-Bashiru have the time on their hands to absorb that, but old sweats cannot afford many wasted seasons. If they are good enough to be considered by Wednesday, they might well have the option of joining one of the similar-sized Championship clubs without a 12-point millstone around their necks.

It is a difficult handicap to overcome at the best of times – Leeds United and Southampton missed out on promotions from a division (League One) clubs of their stature ought not to have been in, whereas in other circumstances it has just tied extra weights to already falling clubs. What will make it harder is that having started a much-needed clearout of senior players the Owls have to attract replacements to fight for a cause they have no attachment to.

It is not as if they have wads of cash to throw at the grizzled generals a team which looked too light on on-field leadership last season needs. Not being careful enough with their pennies got them into this mess.

Wednesday still need to think ahead – short-termism has been another major factor in their demise – but their principles might have to be flavoured with more pragmatism now.

It is a mess of their own making so they cannot complain, but extricating themselves has become a lot more tricky. If the club’s lawyers cannot play a blinder, their scouts will need to.