Struggling Sheffield Wednesday are getting some much-needed help in the summer window, with an agreement reached with Premier League heavyweights Manchester City to bring in a loanee to strengthen their ailing team, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The Owls are virtually probably going to be relegated from the Championship this season, after repeated EFL deductions have left them with minus seven points with 21 games remaining.

In administration since late October, when maligned owner Dejphon Chansiri finally relinquished control of the club, Wednesday’s prospective new owner James Bord is not yet in position at Hillsborough because he needs to pass vital checks to ensure he is fit and proper for the task at hand, and as a result, head coach Henrik Pedersen is still subject to strict transfer restrictions.

Sheffield Wednesday are unable to recruit any players for transfer fees until the summer of 2027 due to previous troubles under Chansiri, but they have been granted special dispensation to sign two ‘free’ loan players.

It will have to be a similar deal to what they did in the summer when they signed Man United left-back Harry Amass, with the Red Devils agreeing to cover the teenager’s wages so he could go and receive game time – though he has since returned to Old Trafford and is set to move elsewhere in the Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday is closing close on Jaden. Heskey’s loan arrangement

Wednesday will want similar favors from teams this month to expand their squad, and it looks that they have made a breakthrough with a top-tier club to strengthen their midfield.

FLW believes that the Owls are in talks to sign Man City youngster Jaden Heskey for the duration of the 2025-26 season, with an agreement in principle being reached with the Etihad Stadium team.

The 20-year-old Heskey, the son of former England international striker Emile, has yet to play a Premier League game for the former European champions, but he made his first-team debut alongside his younger brother Reigan in an EFL Cup match against Huddersfield Town in September last year, coming off the bench on 76 minutes for a cameo under Pep Guardiola.

Heskey, the captain of City’s under-21 team, has been a fixture in Ben Wilkinson’s Premier League 2 side in the middle of the park, and he also had two assists against League Two club Oldham Athletic in a 5-1 EFL Trophy win earlier this season.

Sheffield Wednesday have long admired Heskey, and they appear to be closing in on his services as Man City makes a hefty offer to give the youngster some senior experience.

Wednesday’s midfield has been led all season by 36-year-old Barry Bannan, who has not missed a single league match, but with Nathaniel Chalobah still out, Svante Ingelsson is the only other experienced engine room operator Pedersen can call on, with young Jarvis Thornton recently joining the squad.