Sheffield Wednesday v Luton Town: Deals show the trump cards which give Owls a fighting chance

Stuart Armstrong, who joined for an undisclosed fee from Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday, and Shea Charles, who will remain an Owl for the rest of 2024-25 after Southampton initially recalled him from a season-long loan, have both worked with Rohl before, at St Mary's.

And whilst Charles was not short of reasons as to why he wanted to stay at Hillsborough, where he will no doubt be greeted like a new signing at home to Luton Town on Saturday, one was top of his list.

"Probably the most important thing, I'd say, is working with a manager and coaching staff you know are going to improve you and you have a good relationship with," he says. "I think that's what I have here so it was really important to continue for the rest of the season.

"I wouldn't see a reason to leave the manager and the coaching staff at this point, especially when we're in such a good position."

Rohl's impact on Armstrong's career, which has also taken in Dundee United, Celtic and Scotland, has been more fleeting, but it still had a bearing on the 32-year-old’s decision to cut short a spell in Major League Soccer he speaks fondly of.

"It felt like the right thing to do," says Armstrong, who joined Vancouver last summer after helping Southampton to promotion via a Championship play-off final he missed through injury.

"It definitely helps when you know someone, although we didn't know each other for too long. You can see the impact he's had on the club and the way people and players speak about him very highly.

"He's very methodical, did a lot of planning and meticulous training. His role was slightly different as an assistant manager but you could tell at that early stage he took great pride in preparation and all the details were planned out to perfection.

"You could definitely see the characteristics and that (management) was maybe something he was thinking about then but he's still young now back then he was pretty young too! You can see how well he's doing already in his short career."

Rohl is a coach good players want to play for to become better players.

There are few better examples than Charles, a borrowed player still making his way in senior football, yet emblematic of what Rohl has made Wednesday.

Barely an Owls game goes by these days without their German manager changing his formation, usually more than once. To do that you need intelligent, well coached, adaptable players – the 21-year-old is at the heart of it.

Whether holding the midfield, going from box to box or dropping into central defence, his passing ability and reading of the game are essential to the masterplan.

If it seems effortless, it is not.

"He has the plans beforehand," explains Charles. "If he does want to change it, it's not hard for us to adapt. That's probably one of his main strengths, being able to change it and having us do that on the training pitch beforehand and see it in meetings. What he does in that aspect is just unbelievable.

"It doesn't feel like too much information because he makes everything really clear. I guess as long as you're concentrating it's not."

Charles' impact is why the thought of losing him was such a hammer blow, why supporters were so desperate to lovebomb him into returning as Saints played hardball over loan terms. It worked a treat.

"It feels like they've got a lot of confidence in the team and I feel like they deserve to have a good season and for us to keep putting on performances for them because they travel everywhere and they're so good home and away," says Charles.

"I do love the fans and I hope they know that by now. I hope they can see that when I'm playing and celebrating in front of them."

It is why, when asked if he could have joined Sheffield United, who went public with their interest in January, the answer is so succinct: "Nah, no chance."

Armstrong has felt what Hillsborough means too, in his only visit on the first day of last season, when Southampton took a late 2-1 win.

"It was the opening game on a Friday night and the atmosphere was incredible," he says. "I'd never been to Hillsborough before. The boys were talking about how good an atmosphere it was going to be and it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty excited to feel that pretty quickly."

So the Owls do not have one trump card, they have 20-odd thousand. It could give a club which has pushed its luck with last-minute shopping a fighting chance in the coming days.