Wednesday signed Abdi from Watford last month, despite reported interest from Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic.
New Sheffield Wednesday signing Almen Abdi was denied a reunion with former Watford boss Slavisa Jokanovic at Fulham, according to West London Sport.
At the weekend, Jokanovic claimed that a number of his suggested targets had been vetoed by Craig Kline, who is employed by the Cottagers as a data analyst.
“It generally depends on this guy [Kline] who is going to sign for us or not,” the Serbian said, as quoted by West London Sport.
“The last decision is in the hands of this man. It is not my business.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because no one knows who this guy is. Instead he’s sitting in the directors box.
“I want to take responsibility for how I work with my team and how they perform, but I am not part of the recruitment business.”
Following his arrival at Hillsborough last month, Abdi told the Sheffield Star he had turned down offers from other clubs in order to sign for the Owls, and the Albanian’s name was one of those put forward by Jokanovic, according to West London Sport.
The pair worked together for less than a season at Watford, which culminated in the Hornets’ promotion to the Premier League as Championship runners-up.
Jokanovic has since moved on, though, adding Rayo Vallecano’s Jozabed to his midfield ranks – which had already been boosted by Kevin McDonald’s arrival from Wolves – with Genk’s Neeskens Kebano set to follow (West London Sport).
Abdi, 29, cost Wednesday £4 million, but has got off to a slow start in Sheffield – being substituted at half-time in each of his last two appearances.
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