The former Fulham manager would be welcome at Sheffield Wednesday, it seems.
Some Sheffield Wednesday supporters are clamouring once again for Slavisa Jokanovic after the Serbian’s sacking by Fulham on Wednesday.
Wednesday, of course, still have their own manager, although fan patience appears to have worn thin with Jos Luhukay, who has overseen four defeats and a draw from his last five games in charge.
But if Luhukay was to leave, would Jokanovic even want to succeed him in the Hillsborough hotseat?
Here are three reasons why the sacked Fulham boss may and may not consider a move to the Owls, starting with the latter category.
3) Overspending across the past three campaigns has left Sheffield Wednesday without much money to spend for the foreseeable future, with worse perhaps still to come in the shape of sanctions – as alluded to by Dejphon Chansiri, the Owls’ chairman, earlier this year. The Wednesday squad is currently littered with players who are either injured, ageing or both.
2) Why take the Sheffield Wednesday job when a better opportunity is almost bound to come up before long? This is the Championship after all. It could be argued that Stoke City (certainly), West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest have each underachieved so far, and those clubs may be more inclined to act with a manager like Jokanovic ready to step in.
1) Rumour has it Jokanovic, who hails from the same town Milan Mandaric grew up in and won the league in Chansiri’s home country, was interviewed by Sheffield Wednesday after the former handed over full control to the Thai in 2015. And if he didn’t fancy it then, with sizeable funds available, then why would he now having enhanced his reputation by adding a second promotion at Fulham, earlier this year?
Although…
3) Having spent the past four years in English football, Jokanovic should be familiar with the stature of Sheffield Wednesday FC, the fanbase it attracts, and the potential it has to compete again at the highest level – if and when things even out from a financial point of view.
2) A move to Sheffield Wednesday would reunite Jokanovic with three members of his promotion-winning Watford side, Daniel Pudil, Almen Abdi and Fernando Forestieri – the forward with whom he was repeatedly linked at Fulham. With a number of Owls players out of contract next summer, the idea of building around Forestieri, especially, could appeal – if the Argentine isn’t sold, that is.
1) Leaving the hubbub of London is something many, in and out of football, are often reluctant to do. But Jokanovic has shown throughout his career that he is not averse to moving around – playing or managing in Serbia, Spain, England, Thailand, Poland and Israel. A hop up the M1 to Sheffield therefore shouldn’t faze him.
Could Sheffield Wednesday really lure Jokanovic?