“I will always have Sheffield Wednesday in my heart” Dennis Adeniran reveals release shock and return hopes

He’s polite and charming, the sort of personality that has become typical of the Owls changing room in recent years, and he speaks first to thank The Star for getting in touch and allowing him the opportunity to express his gratitude to the club’s fan base a few weeks on from the end of his time as a Wednesday player.

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the released column published earlier this summer, Adeniran was a popular member of the squad and despite the gut-punch reality of a number injuries dotted throughout his time in South Yorkshire, was an important player.

He jumped into an all-important role at right wing-back towards the end of their 2022/23 promotion campaign and across his two years enjoyed runs of form between the knocks that made him among the most popular figures on the terraces.

Taking a long intake of breath when asked whether his release came as a shock, he said: “It did to be honest.

“I thought I might get given another year to be able to prove myself, but that’s football I guess.

“I’m leaving with the mindset of unfinished business. I don’t think the fans got to see my full potential because I was always so stop and start, but I enjoyed every moment. Even when I was injured watching the boys, it was amazing.

“I really do only wish the best for Sheffield Wednesday and I will always be supporting from wherever I am.”

He’ll be supporting them as a father. Adeniran and his partner welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world earlier this month. He speaks with a grin you can hear down the phone when discussing the undoubted highlight of what has been a whirlwind few months for the 24-year-old.

Such was the joy and love he and his family felt from the Wednesday fan base, he harbours hopes he could one day make a return to S6 with his son in tow. Words are words - football interviews are sometimes littered with cliches of crowd-pleasing badge-punching - but his reflections on time at the club are genuine and earnest.

The sense is that Wednesday’s is a score he’ll look for quickly on Saturday evenings.

“Sure, I’d definitely like to come back one day,” he said when asked whether unfinished business was shorthand for the opening of a door to come back and make good on the undoubted potential shown in his performances at S6.

“When I first came in it really felt like the fans took to me and were positive with me the whole time, even through the tough times. Fans get upset at certain things but there are always the die-hards that will support you through everything.

“I appreciate all of them. I loved my time at Wednesday. If it [the opportunity to sign for Wednesday again] comes around in the future then why not? They were awesome to me in the two years I was there, whether I was injured or playing.”

Adeniran arrived in a manic summer of transfer activity as Darren Moore’s first senior signing. Coveted by Championship clubs after his release by Everton, he was persuaded that joining Wednesday’s League One promotion mission was the natural next step.

His was a relationship with Moore was tight - so much so that teammates would joke that the pair were father and son - and it was Moore that had done much of the convincing to get him signed. He made 51 appearances for the Owls across his two seasons, scoring seven goals and assisting three times.

What Adeniran remembers was a building momentum across those two seasons, in the middle of which came the gut-punch of play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland before a carnival of chaos in the latter stages of last season earned a historic promtion back to the second tier.

It is the momentum of those last few months that he believes can be the blueprint for further success, the level of which he feels is sky-high. His message mirrors a line in the exit statement of his ‘football dad’ Moore; whatever comes in the coming weeks, Wednesday as an entity must stay as one.

He said: “I feel like the first year we were always building that connection between the team and the fans and you could see in the second year the whole thing gelled, everyone came together and you can see how powerful that can be when it all comes together. We got promoted and what we did against Peterborough in the second leg was mostly down to the fans and us sticking together.

“I was there for two years and I know the quality that is at the club. With one or two additions they can push for promotion, why not? As we proved last year with how the season finished, anything is possible. But everyone has to stick together, the club finds players, they back the coach and anything can happen.

“In the next few years I want to see Wednesday in the Premier League, or at least fighting to get to the Premier League. For the fanbase, the magnitude of the club deserves nothing less.

“Whoever manages to take the club back to the Premier League, the players that do it as well, they will go down in history.”

He has several favourite memories. There’s his first goal for the club, scored in front of the Kop in a 2-0 home win against Doncaster Rovers. There’s the two Carabao Cup screamers scored last season in front of the fans with whom he shared such a connection.

But his ultimate Wednesday memory is one not even experienced while he was on the pitch. Like just about everyone else that was at Hillsborough on May 18, the events of the evening now known simply as ‘The Hillsborough Miracle’ are memories that can’t be beaten.

“Peterborough tops Wembley in my eyes,” he said, that smile emitting down the airwaves once more. “The way we did it, the preparation, it all made sense and I can’t even describe how I felt.

“I know I didn’t even play, but I felt as though I was kicking every ball with the boys. It was unreal. That’s my best moment at Wednesday.

“It really just didn’t feel real. Sat on the side, it felt like I was moving, but I wasn’t moving. I cannot put into words what it felt to watch that and running on to celebrate, especially when Palms scored that goal, Hunty getting the winning penalty. It was just an incredible feeling.”

He asks for a special mention to go out to Antonio Quintella, a behind-the-scenes member of the backroom team who he credits with helping him battle through the darker times of injury at Wednesday. He thanks Moore, Moore’s staff and his teammates.

But as is the theme of gratitude towards Sheffield Wednesday supporters, he ends with a final word going to the terraces.

“I didn’t get chance to say a proper goodbye and maybe I’ll get that in the future,” he said. “But I’d like to thank the supporters for everything they did for me throughout the past two years. The fan base is incredible.

“If they keep it the same as Peterborough, I really believe the squad can go on to do incredible things this season and hopefully achieve promotion.

“I will always have Wednesday in my heart.”