Sheffield Wednesday later completed the signing of Joey Pelupessy from Heracles Almelo.
Jos Luhukay has suggested that Sheffield Wednesday will continue to seek out potential signings whose contracts expire in six months’ time.
The Dutchman made Heracles Almelo midfielder Joey Pelupessy, who was set to become a free agent from July, his first Owls recruit on Thursday.
And he has also been linked with a move for Feyenoord left-back Miquel Nelom ahead of his contract running out.
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield hours before Pelupessy’s arrival was announced by Wednesday, Luhukay, who only began work last Monday, revealed he has already identified positions in need of strengthening at Hillsborough.
“The problem is January is not an easy transfer month,” he said. “You have the good players – normally they must stay with their clubs – and you [are left with] players who maybe [have] not had the chance to play for their club. And we must make for the future good decisions. We have now the situation where we must look to the end of the season [and beyond].
“When you do something now and a player comes to us you have two situations. You can bring a player to loan, but you can also bring a player to buy and he is also for the future there. You have two situations, and we have a lot of injuries so I must have a good eye on my squad. Now we have 13 players but there are 10 players not available at this moment.”
Asked if there is there good value in the foreign market, Luhukay added: “[It] always depends on the contract. Is the contract finished in the summer, 2018, or has the player a contract until 2019, 2020? It depends on the distance from his contract and also maybe the salary, which is also important. Both must be in a good situation for us.”
The capture of Pelupessy should come as a relief to Luhukay, who has been without four central midfielders – Sam Hutchinson, Kieran Lee, Barry Bannan and Almen Abdi – throughout his short reign.
The 24-year-old, who can also play in the centre of defence and at right-back, is eligible to feature in Wednesday’s visit of Cardiff City on Saturday.
Should Sheffield Wednesday start with Pelupessy against Cardiff?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
