Owls target Ian Black

It is understood the Owls have made their interest known in the 27-year-old after the Tynecastle outfit decided not to renew Black’s contract due to cutbacks. A decision on his future, however, is not expected any time soon, with Black currently on holiday.

Several other unnamed clubs are also vying for Black’s signature and the player is ready to take his time as he weighs up all his options. Rangers had also been linked with a move for the former Inverness playmaker before it was announced they would be liquidated. Black departed Tynecastle a hero after inspiring Hearts to a 5-1 Scottish Cup final thrashing of city rivals Hibs last month. He has made no secret of his desire to return to England after failing to make the breakthrough at Blackburn Rovers as a youngster.

Wednesday manager Dave Jones wants to strengthen his side after leading the club to an automatic League One promotion place behind champions Charlton last term.

Jones said: “If there’s good players about I can assure the fans that I’ll be trying to get them. The good thing is that we got promoted automatically so we could start working on players from that day. We are fortunate to get in early and there’s a list of a lot of players we have spoken to.”