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Sheffield Wednesday caretaker manager Lee Bullen says he would like to recall striker Sam Winnall from his loan at Derby County .

Winnall is on a season-long stay with the Rams, having joined the club on transfer deadline day at the end of August in a deal which saw midfielder Jacob Butterfield move in the opposite direction.

Since then, Wednesday have sacked boss Carlos Carvalhal, leaving Bullen in temporary charge.

The Owls have been struggling of late, losing five of their past six games, most recently a 3-0 home defeat to Burton Albion on New Year's Day.

Speaking after the Burton loss, Bullen told BBC Radio Sheffield that he would look into whether Winnall could be brought back to Hillsborough early.

(Image: Epic Action Imagery/Matt Bradshaw)

However, the Derby Telegraph understands that the only way this could happen is if all three parties - Wednesday, Derby and the player - agree, which would appear unlikely.

"I’m not sure exactly what the agreement is with Derby," said Bullen. "I’m not sure if both clubs have to agree.

"I know Derby had an issue when (Chris) Martin was down at Fulham last year - I don’t know if it’s a similar scenario.

"It’s one thing we’ll definitely have to look at. But again, I don’t know what the actual agreement was, that was done way before my time, so we’ll have to look at that - as a potential."

Derby wanted to recall Martin from his loan at Fulham a year ago but the London club did not agree to this and he remained at Craven Cottage.

Winnall has scored six goals in 13 appearances for Derby so far, including a brace in the 2-1 win at Ipswich Town on Saturday.

He has only started five times and was back on the bench for the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on New Year's Day.

Speaking after the Ipswich game, the 26-year-old admitted he had been frustrated by his lack of game time .