Sheffield Wednesday are arguably finding their very best form at the most crucial time it’s needed, Danny Rohl’s Owls victorious in four of their last five Championship clashes which included a 1-0 win at local South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United last weekend.
This means Wednesday have a real chance at beating the dreaded drop down to League One now, an unbelievable potential feat pulled off by Rohl and Co when you consider how doomed the Owls looked to the fate of relegation earlier in the season.
Indeed, ex-boss Xisco Munoz picked up just two points from his side’s opening ten games, before being unsurprisingly booted out of Hillsborough.
Now, the point gap between Wednesday and lifting their heads above the bottom three in 21st spot stands at only three points with new recruits such as Ike Ugbo and Ian Poveda becoming instant fan favourites for their heroics going forward.
Whilst Ugbo is already an adored figure with an unbelievable six goals next to his name since joining in January, Wednesday fans wouldn’t say no to having a certain maverick back amongst their ranks to add even more firepower to the revitalised South Yorkshire side.
How much Sheffield Wednesday signed Fernando Forestieri for
All the way back in 2015, which now stands as being nearly a decade ago, Sheffield Wednesday broke the bank to land the services of explosive attacker Fernando Forestieri for a reported fee of £3m.
Arguably a bumper fee for a forward who had only managed to score five goals in his final season at Watford, Forestieri looked to be worth every penny and risk taken to go after him across his first full campaign at Hillsborough.
The exciting 5 foot 8 attacker would bag 15 goals from 36 appearances during his debut 2015/16 season, scoring four of those in back-to-back games in December of that same season against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City to continue enthralling the Wednesday masses.
|
Sheffield Wednesday’s lineup: Forestieri’s Championship debut vs Burnley |
|
|---|---|
|
1. GK – Joe Wildsmith |
|
|
2. RB – Liam Palmer |
|
|
3. CB – Glenn Loovens |
|
|
4. CB – Tom Lees |
|
|
5. LB – Daniel Pudil |
|
|
6. CM – Barry Bannan |
|
|
7. CM – Sam Hutchinson |
|
|
8. RM – Kieran Lee |
|
|
9. SS – Fernando Forestieri |
|
|
10. LM – Ross Wallace |
|
|
11. ST – Atdhe Nuhiu |
Forestieri wouldn’t just have one entertaining individual season in isolation however, going on to be a hero for Owls fans to rely on in the seasons that followed his sensational introduction to South Yorkshire.
The dangerous Wednesday man would go on to amass 40 goals and 17 assists for his side over 134 appearances in total, with 17 of those contributions coming during the 2016-17 season which saw the Owls reach the Championship playoffs.
Unfortunately, after a second successive golden season donning the blue and white of Wednesday, Forestieri’s time at Hillsborough would then be hindered by injury issues and off-field drama.
He would end up only playing in a meagre ten games during the following campaign in the Championship, but would still manage to find the back of the net five times when fit away from being in and out of the Owls treatment room.
Other issues – such as the outspoken attacker wanting to move on from Wednesday at one point – would further add to the mounting frustrations surrounding his lack of availability.
This would come to a head under the reign of Garry Monk at Hillsborough, with the under-pressure manager desperate to have the ex-Hornets attacker at his disposal more often owing to his “devastating” ability to terrorise opposition defences.
But, the now 34-year-old would continue to face lengthy spells out of the side to end his celebrated time with the South Yorkshire titans on a bit of a downer – only managing to play 17 times during his final full season for his former employers.
Still, with his unpredictable presence enough to gain a goal from absolutely nothing, the iconic ex-Wednesday number 45 would be a joy to watch in the midst of the current relegation battle unfolding where every strike’s importance is elevated.
Forestieri’s goal output didn’t dry up when he exited Hillsborough, going on to be a success again after exiting Wednesday on a free transfer four years ago.
What Forestieri did after leaving Sheffield Wednesday
The ageing forward would relocate to the Serie A to strut his stuff with Udinese in the immediate aftermath of his exit from Hillsborough, with the 5 foot 8 star struggling to adjust to his new surroundings after an extended period playing in England.
The two-time Italy U21 international would only bag two goals in total for his new Italian side from 28 appearances, leaving Udinese as quickly as he entered after failing to ever really dazzle his new set of supporters.
Thankfully for Forestieri, instead of his career gradually fizzling out after this failed move abroad, he would recapture his prolific best again in front of goal when joining Johor Darul Ta’zim all the way out in Malaysia in 2022.
Not content at just seeing out his career with mediocre displays in the sun, the veteran forward would become a goal machine over a short but fruitful two-season stay – his final full campaign for the Malaysia Super League side culminating in the 5 foot 8 creator bowing out with a staggering 19 goals from just 20 games in the league.
|
Forestieri’s numbers with Johor Darul Ta’zim |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games played |
Goals |
Assists |
|
20232/4 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
|
2022/23 |
32 |
25 |
13 |
|
2021/22 |
30 |
21 |
11 |
|
Stats by Transfermarkt |
|||
Now without a club as the end of his career inevitably comes into view, there must have been some pondering on Wednesday’s end at their very worst this season over whether a punt on a reunion for Forestieri was a worthwhile avenue to explore.
Rohl and Co will just aim to keep plugging on and grinding out wins with an escape from the relegation mire a very real possibility now, hoping that figures such as Ugbo and Poveda are remembered as giants in Wednesday quarters if safety is secured in a similar fashion to that of Forestieri at his prime.
