Sheffield Wednesday legend Barry Bannan reveals cheeky Ike Ugbo talks as Sunderland transfer decision looms

Sheffield Wednesday legend Barry Bannan has revealed cheeky talks with Sunderland target Ike Ugbo.

The Black Cats entered the race for Ugbo last week as they continue their bid to reinforce their striker options for the new Championship campaign.

Ugbo is expected to leave French club ES Troyes AC this summer and unsurprisingly, Sheffield Wednesday have been leading the race. Ugbo had a hugely successful loan at Hillsborough last season, scoring seven goals as the club completed an exceptional escape from relegation trouble under Rohl.

The 25-year-old is expected to command a fee of around £2.5million in total and though Wednesday have a real willingness to do the deal and have held advanced talks. An outline fee is believed to have been agreed upon between the two parties, with payment terms set to be an important discussion in the next few days.

However, Sheffield Wednesday man Barry Bannan has joked that he is working behind the scenes to persuade former teammate Ugbo to return to Hillsborough.

“I've tried loads of things,” Bannan said when asked by the Sheffield Star about trying to persuade Ugbo to re-join the club. “I think he's getting fed up with me. But I will text him again today, to be honest, just to keep nagging him. So hopefully he can be here next weekend or next week and help us.”

As first revealed by our sister paper The Sheffield Star, Sunderland have entered the race as a result and made clear that they would like to sign the Canadian international, who came through the youth ranks at Chelsea.

Speaking to BBC Sheffield when asked on the situation around Ugbo, Rohl said: “When you go into a race, you want to win that race, of course. We push our speed at the moment, but the other clubs push as well their speed. Now we come to the final 10 metres and hopefully, we are a little bit in front, we have a photo finish and we win this race.”

Sunderland begin their Championship campaign against Cardiff City in Wales on Saturday under new head coach Régis Le Bris.