Departing Sheffield Wednesday veteran on Championship and League One transfer radars
Recently released Sheffield Wednesday winger Marvin Johnson is attracting interest from clubs in the Championship and League One.
The Owls decided to let seven members of their 2024/25 first-team squad go last month. Of those confirmed to be exiting Hillsborough this summer, Johnson had been with the club for the longest time.
The 34-year-old arrived on a free transfer after leaving Middlesbrough in the summer of 2021.
He immediately brought a strong amount of second-tier experience to the Wednesday side that had just been relegated to League One and, unsurprisingly, he was a key figure in the Owls’ two terms in the third division, including in their victorious 2023 post-season campaign that led them back to the Championship.
His role diminished slightly after the promotion, but Johnson was able to re-establish himself in the team in what was his final season with the club.
Marvin Johnson attracting Championship and League One interest this summer
Now that he has been released, the versatile winger/wing-back is a free agent option that some of Wednesday’s league rivals, as well as clubs from the level below, are considering, according to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath.
He racked up 41 appearances, 30 starts and two assists for Danny Rohl’s side last time out, making the interest in him from clubs at the highest level of the EFL unsurprising.
Johnson is not rushing to confirm his next destination, McGrath has said, but, with pre-season quickly approaching, that doesn’t mean a decision won’t come in the near future.
| Marvin Johnson’s 24/25 Championship stats | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 40 |
| Starts | 31 |
| Minutes per game | 68 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Big chances created | 7 |
| Key passes per game | 1.1 |
| Duels won per game | 3.6 (53%) |
| Source: Sofascore | |
Marvin Johnson will be happy to be away from Sheffield Wednesday’s chaos
Unfortunately for Wednesday, they may be heading in a similar direction to the one they were going when Johnson first moved to Hillsborough.
The three-window-long transfer embargo that they have been handed permits them from paying any fees for transfer or loan deals until January 2027.
The club is also under an embargo which limits the amount of ‘permitted players’ they can have on their books at one time to 23.
This and the transfer ban have come as a result of a number of late payments made by chairman Dejphon Chansiri over the past year.
Despite this, the Thai businessman appears to be reluctant to sell the club. He has turned down bids of £48 million and £55 million, according to Adam Shaw – a Wednesday supporter who is part of the American consortium that wants to buy the Owls.
All the while, their manager, Danny Rohl, is looking for a move away from the club, leaving almost nothing for supporters to be positive. It’s a real mess, one that the likes of Johnson may be looking back at and thinking they’re happy that they have got away from it.
