After a strong end to life in Division 2, the Owls finished 5th, and came from behind to win 3-1 at Crystal Palace in the semi-final, before seeing off Southampton at Wembley by the same scoreline. As expected, chairman Dejphon Chansiri has set the target to avoid relegation, something which the club are fully determined to do. There have been plenty of new signings at the club, after having been left with only 21 players at the end of last season, here's a list of the new faces on the block.
Romain Hamouma
The 88 rated Frenchman is the first of 2 players to join as part of the deal which saw star winger Aleix Vidal depart to Chelsea. He can play anywhere across the midfield and also as part of an attacking 3, and is sure to be a very useful addition.
Fernando Torres
Joining Hamouma as the second player for the Vidal deal is 90 rated World Cup winner Fernando Torres. While he has suffered a few difficult years in real life, the Spaniard has won it all at international and club level, and Powell will hope the Spaniard, who's spent his entire 279 career at Chelsea, will score the goals to fire the club to safety.
Sergio Asenjo
Another Spaniard to join is 88 rated keeper Sergio Asenjo, for just 7.4m from Ajax. Despite being just 26 years old and already having a high rating, the Owls were the only club to bid for the keeper, who will replace Yoann Thuram as the club's number 1.
Paul Verhaegh
Dutch international Paul Verhaegh joins from German side Augsburg for 6.2m. aged 31 and rated 88, the fullback, who can play on either side of defence, has been a late blossomer, and has forced his way into becoming a regular in the Netherlands squad. He is expected to line up at left back this season.
Andrea Raggi
The Italian defender joins from Monaco for 5.6m, and will bring a much-needed steel, grit and aggression to the backline. A regular for Monaco in real life, the 87 rated defender is 31 and can play at the centre of defence, where he is expected to play, as well as being able to fill in at right back if needs be.
Mikel Gonzalez
88 rated centre back Gonzalez joins from Real Sociedad for 7.7m and will line up alongside fellow new signing Andrea Raggi. The 29 year old has been a regular for the Basque club in 279, and he'll hope to prevent last season's leaky defence from becoming too much of a problem.
Other new arrivals
Young Brazilian Carlos Eduardo joins, althoug he is not expected to feature too much this season, while former Blackburn, Manchester City and Bayern Munich striker Roque Santa Cruz joins as backup.
Opening Fixtures
The Owls start by hosting QPR, who finished in an impressive 9th place last season, before visting Broon's Tottenham on Matchday 2. Following that is a trip to Division 2 winners Bristol City, who did the double over us, before Stoke visit Hillsborough. Following that is a trip to last season's surprise package Derby County, and the 6th match is at home to Arsenal.
Manager Ted Powell
'We are delighted to be able to begin Season 7 in Division 1 for the first time in our GC279 history. When I took the club over in the middle of Season 5 we were languishing in lower midtable, and if you'd told me we'd be where we are now, with the squad we have now, I'd have laughed. So many players have come and gone, and youngster Ayo Obileye and Ecuadorian Jefferson Montero are the only two players we've got who have been here since I arrived. We firmly believe we've got what it takes to stay up. We hope to announce 2 88 rated loanees soon, and once that happens, every player in our Matchday 18 will have a minimum rating of 87. It's nice to be able to start the season at home, because we are going to have to make Hillsborough a fortress if we're to avoid the drop. Every single position we wanted to improve, we have, and our depth is now looking much more secure. Bring it on'
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