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UPDATE: Wednesday manager Dave Jones has confirmed the move in his pre-match press conference. We are still waiting on details of the deal
Dave Jones pre-Barnsley press conference: "Olifinjana and Holden are in. There may be one more before the deadline" #swfc
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) March 28, 2013
In a bit of a surprising move, it looks as though Stuart Holden could be on his way to Hillsborough, according to the Bolton News. This would have to be a quick deal indeed, as the loan window closes at 5pm GMT today, in just about 3 hours. It is speculated that this move would be extremely short term and just as a way to give the American midfielder more first team action.
Dougie Freedman has proven very gun shy when deploying Holden, and Stu has just one Championship game to date. Previously we had assumed that this was more due to the desire to bring Holden back slowly, to lessen the likelihood of re-injuring his precious knee, but this move would imply that Dougie's problem is more with Holden's match sharpness than fitness.
The newly promoted Wednesday are currently 21st in the Championship, and have just 9 games left to ensure that they don't slip into the relegation spots. Even if Stu is not match sharp, he would add a lot of quality to Wednesday, and it is a move that would help their plight.
This rumour has obviously sparked a lot of reaction from Wanderers faithful, mainly worries that the beloved Stu didn't have a future in a Bolton shirt, and Marc Iles (who broke the story) has tweeted this in response,
Can't answer all Holden Q's but know that DF wants him to stay at #bwfc - loan move just about games and only short term. #swfc
— Marc Iles (@MarcIles) March 28, 2013
The next season for Holden is still up in the air contract-wise, and probably will remain so until he can prove it should be otherwise. The best way to go about that is getting game time, so if this loan can do that I support it fully. What do you think about the possible move to the Owls?
If you're not up-to-date with Stu's long journey, fix that with our comprehensive look back