Danny Röhl has Sheffield Wednesday puzzle to solve over Michael Smith

Michael Smith has proven to be an effective attacking option for Sheffield Wednesday this season – and Owls manager Danny Röhl has a decision to make over whether he can become a more regular starter.

The target man forward has sat out of only one Championship match this season but only four appearances in his 14 have come as a starter, with Röhl seemingly preferring his impact from the bench as part of carefully-curated match plans that involve ‘starters and finishers’ chosen from match to match.

Despite his relatively limited pitch time, Smith leads the way on direct goal contributions for Wednesday this season with three goals and two assists, three of those contributions coming in back-to-back matches as a starting player at the turn of the month.

A look across the Owls’ data list presses home Smith’s form beyond the bare statistics; he ranks as the Owls’ highest performer in a range of attacking metrics per 90 minutes including goals (0.62), xG (0.43), shots on target (1.7), shots (3.5) and xG+xA (0.63). It is up to Röhl to decide whether these numbers can translate to a more regular starting berth for the former Rotherham United target man. Interestingly, Smith also ranks second for the number of times a ball is won in the opposition half per 90 minutes (1.0), offering a glimpse into his defensive aptitude.