‘Do something big’ – Sheffield Wednesday’s new arrival explains speedy Owls decision

The Owls snapped up the 25-year-old for an undisclosed fee recently, the big central defender swapping Lancashire for Yorkshire as he joined up with Xisco and his ranks for the 2023/24 campaign and potentially beyond.

Bambo, number five, may get his debut in Wednesday colours on Tuesday night when they go up against Stockport County in the Carabao Cup, and he says that he wants to ‘do something big’ at Hillsborough now that he’s on board.

In an interview with the club’s YouTube channel this week Diaby spoke of his decision to join the Owls, revealing that it didn’t take much thinking time to come to his decision.

“One day my agent called me to say that Sheffield Wednesday were interested in me,” he said, “And in that second I said, ‘Yeah, I want to go’… After talking with the manager he told me about the project that he has in his mind, and that motivated me. He wants players to improve, and like everyone he works hard and that’s my mentality - so I think we’re the same way. It made it easy for me.

“It’s a new challenge to come here, and I watched all the preseason games against like against Murcia and Eldense in Spain - I wanted to come here and try to do something big, do the best I can, and give 100%.”

He also spoke about the role that Xisco had in reaffirming that he was making the right decision, saying that his desire to improve people was a standout factor.

The former Barnsley man added, “The thing I like about this manager is that he sees my mistakes, and he wants me to be a better player. He wants to help me, and that helped convince me… You need a manager that wants to help you.”

Wednesday face Stockport at 7.45pm tomorrow evening in their second competitive game under the new manager, and he’ll be itching to get that winning feeling at S6 for the first time – possibly with Diaby’s help.