Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County reported to be interested in former Man Utd speed merchant once linked with Chelsea

Reports on Monday evening suggested 19-year-old Deji Sotona is of interest to the Owls, with League One rivals Derby County also thrown into the mix.

Darren Moore has already made seven additions to his squad over the summer and last week spoke about the possibility of adding more names as he looks to put the final touches on a squad he hopes will be ready to challenge for promotion from League One this season.

Adding to the attacking areas of the squad is something he is known to be considering after The Star revealed interest in both Hull City man Mallik Wilks and Birmingham City youngster Keke Simmonds.

And now Sotona – a relative unknown to most Wednesday supporters – is a name to have been added to the long list of names reported to be potential Wednesday additions.

The youngster spent his formative years in his native Republic of Ireland before making the switch to Manchester United at a 13-year-old in 2016, despite interest from cross-city rivals Manchester City.

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An all-Ireland sprinting medallist at youth level, Sotona hit headlines in 2019 when the Daily Mail reported leaked club data that suggested he was the fastest man on the books at Manchester United with a staggering maximum speed of 22.9mph – a full 1.2mph faster than next-fastest Diogo Dalot.

Though he never made a senior appearance for the club, Sotona was highly rated at Old Trafford and was offered a new deal to stay at the club in 2020.

But amid reported interest from all over Europe, including La Liga, the Bundesliga and in the Premier League – most notably from Chelsea – the youngster chose to spread his wings and make the switch to Patrick Vieira’s Nice side in Ligue 1 after the former Arsenal captain reportedly promised first team football.

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Vieira’s departure stunted his progress in the South of France and last season he was loaned out to Brentford B, where he impressed enough to draw this reported interest from two League One giants.