Why pre-season will be a 'crucial' period for Sheffield Wednesday star Fernando Forestieri

Fernando Forestieri will be a key man in the Owls' promotion quest next season.
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That is the view of first-team coach Lee Bullen as Wednesday prepare for an eighth consecutive year in the Championship.Forestieri, a £3m buy from Watford in August 2015, struggled for form and consistency in the 2018/19 campaign, hitting just six goals in 27 appearances. But the 29-year-old ended a difficult year on a high by finding the back of the net on two occasions in the last four fixtures, including a glorious strike at Norwich City.Bullen told The Star: "I believe that his performance against Norwich was probably Fernando's best in four seasons with us. It was the real Fernando Forestieri. "If you get Fernando playing at that sort of level and with that intensity and work-rate, then there is no more effective player in this league to be honest with you."But Fernando's biggest problem has been consistency. He will play a game like he did against Norwich and then he will miss a couple of games with niggling injuries."Pre-season will be such an important period for us and Fernando. He is one of our best players and is a crucial, crucial player when he is fit. When he is struggling, it is very difficult for the lad."Bullen went on to say Forestieri is technically "one of the best" players he has worked with in his career."Ability wise, there is none better," he said. "Fernando is a Premier League player but you will have to ask him why he is not playing in the Premier League."Is it down to consistency? Is it down to little injuries here and there?"He was brought up in Argentina before moving to Italy and he has that street fighter mentality on top of his natural football ability."The lads love him to bits and so do the fans. They know on his day he can be one of the best players in the league."

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