‘Very happy’ - Ex-Leeds United, Nottingham Forest & West Brom man makes Sheffield Wednesday move

Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz says he is "very happy" regarding the impending arrival of Luke Dowling to the club's recruitment team.

Dowling previously worked as sporting and technical director at West Brom but left the club in 2021 and has previously worked for the likes Leeds United, Watford, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers.

Reports claim Dowling is set to become technical director at Hillsborough, as the Owls look to solidify their Championship status following promotion from League One.

Wednesday face Leeds at the beginning of September and have so far added Juan Delgado and Ashley Fletcher to their squad ahead of the 2023-24 Championship campaign but more arrivals are expected before the window closes on September 1.

"I'm very happy with the president (Dejphon Chansiri) because he's given me everything to try and improve the team. For me this is amazing," he said.

"If we put together more people then maybe we can decipher more information about more players. But I'm also very happy with Dean (Hughes, recruitment analyst) because he's working very well.

"But I think having three (minds) is better than having just two, for example, so this is the idea. We are moving forward to try and find what we want.

"As I said in my first press conference (that) the market is not easy. You have a lot of things and different situations. But I'm very happy with the club because they are giving me more support with Luke. I think everybody knows about Luke and his experience of the Championship. I think he's a very good (addition) for us."

Meanwhile, Leeds are close to completing a second signing of the summer as Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has confirmed Karl Darlow is travelling back to England to undergo a medical with the Whites ahead of a proposed move to Elland Road.

Leeds looked set to miss out on the 32-year-old to Premier League outfit Bournemouth but the Whites pursuit of the player received a boost on Tuesday as the YEP revealed the two clubs in advanced talks over a permanent transfer.

The Cherries were interested in Darlow, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Hull City, but widespread reports claim they are on the cusp of signing Inter Milan’s Romanian international goalkeeper Ionut Radu.

With Darlow heading to Leeds on a permanent deal, Sky Sports Keith Downie has reported the fee is approximately £400k. It marks a reasonable price for a goalkeeper with 245 career appearances to his name and with plenty of experience in the Premier League and Championship. Reports earlier this month claimed Newcastle were set to demand as much as £5m for the player.