Simon Wilson has outlined the numbers game Sheffield Wednesday must beat to turn positivity over their "rebirth" into promotion.

The Owls are a huge League One club, but that in itself means nothing. Never in 158 years have they bounced back from relegation to the third tier at the first try.

And whilst Wednesday have a big fanbase and history, they are joined in the division by Leicester City, Premier League champions only 10 years ago.

Huddersfield Town, Blackpool, Luton Town and Reading have played in the top flight more recently.

RECRUITMENT BRIEF: Sheffield Wednesday sporting director Simon Wilson (Image: Steve Ellis)

placeholder image — RECRUITMENT BRIEF: Sheffield Wednesday sporting director Simon Wilson (Image: Steve Ellis)

Most of all is the fact the Owls have to virtually build a squad from scratch working under financial restrictions – "all sensible," according to sporting director Wilson.

"Recruitment's risky, right?" he said in an interview with the BBC.

"Data arguably would say a 50 per cent recruitment rate – one in two that work – is a really good rate. When you extrapolate that over maybe getting 20 players, only getting ten right wouldn't be great.

"For every player you're looking to sign, you've probably got three candidates that you're trying to keep alive all the time. Across 20 positions, that's 60 players."

LOWER RISK: Ricardo Santos has played for and captain a League One club with high expectations when he was at Bolton Wanderers (Image: Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Some signings are less risky, such as ex-Bolton Wanderers captain Ricardo Santos with his League One record, or the mooted return of club legend Barry Bannan. But just playing it safe will get you nowhere either, hence the arrival of young centre-back Sil Swinkels.

"If players have played for big clubs in front of big attendances before, we sort of already know they can do it," argues Wilson. "Taking someone from a smaller club is more of a risk.

"We're looking for history of winning, of coming from a winning dressing room.

"We want a number of players who are close your eyes and you know what you'll get from them, but you also want a couple of wildcards who might surprise you over the course of the season and can go bigger than you might have thought on day one."

And what Wednesday's stature does at least do is improve the chances of landing targets.

"Getting promoted will mean everything," said Santos, who missed Bolton's League One play-off win by joining Swansea City in 2025. "I want to help a big club like this back to where they should be."