Joe Crann of the Sheffield Star has revealed that Wycombe Wanderers are one of many teams interested in Sheffield Wednesday’s young star Bailey Cadamarteri.
The 20-year-old has been a regular starter for cash-strapped Sheffield Wednesday under the cruel ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, with the “owner” placing the club into administration following his ruinous time in charge.
As such, the club may need to cash in on its assets to secure the club’s future long-term stability, and the 20-year-old striker is one such asset it has in its hands. Currently, the club’s administrators are responsible for making decisions and are likely to pursue a transfer policy aimed at ensuring the club’s solvency, even if it means compromising its current sporting capabilities on the field.
Following a loan at Lincoln City in the 24/25 season where he scored five league goals in 23 games, he has been thrown in at the deep end in the Championship as Sheffield Wednesday, where he has scored twice in 27 league games in a team that is largely composed of fellow youth graduates, thrust into first team football due to the club’s dire circumstances.
Cadamarteri does not excel statistically this season, but this is understandable given Sheffield Wednesday’s current situation in the league, but at Lincoln City he was one of League One’s most statistically impressive strikers, managing 0.40 goals per game, 0.29 expected goals per game, 2.32 shots per game and 1.04 shots on target per game, all within the top 15% of League One strikers last season. For context, he would not be far off Wycombe’s past starlet Richard Kone, who managed 0.59 goals per game, 0.52 expected goals per game, 3.23 shots per game and 1.31 shots on target per game.
Wycombe, however, would face fierce competition for the striker, competing with Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Charlton Athletic, Luton Town and Mansfield Town all interested, with a fee of £750,000 to £1 million likely to be considered by the club’s administrators. What Wycombe may be able to offer Bailey over these other clubs is the chance to start regularly at a club with Championship aspirations and improvements off the pitch in training and youth facilities.
Bailey could likely come into the team to lead the line, with Fred Onyedinma at present playing in the unfamiliar role of the nine, while Cauley Woodrow has instead been pushed deeper as a 10, while Bradley Fink doesn’t yet seem to have the trust of Michael Duff. In the new 5-2-2-1, Bailey could look to lead the line while attacking midfielders such as Jamie Mullins, Luke Harris, Junior Quitirna and Fred Onyedinma play off the 6’0 striker.
Wycombe do need a striker, and Bailey Cadamarteri would be a sensible pickup that could excel in the future, but could also offer a strong option up front now as Wycombe look to continue pushing for the play-off spots.
