The numbers behind Fernando Forestieri's recent mini-resurgence in a Sheffield Wednesday shirt

The return of Sheffield Wednesday front line talisman Steven Fletcher is an obvious boost to the Owls’ goalscoring prospects, along with a likely return for the likes of Adam Reach in the coming weeks.
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But with Wednesday scoring three goals in a game for the first time since a 4-0 win at Nottingham Forest in mid-December, it was the work of little Argentina-born trickster Fernando Forestieri that went some way to curing the Owls’ 2020 hangover in front of goal, bagging an assist and a goal from the spot.

The enigmatic forward, into the final months of his contract at Hillsborough, provided an impetus up front lacking in recent games and heading into their midweek clash with Charlton could be in-line to start his fifth consecutive game for the first time since the final run-in of the 2017/18 season.

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That St Andrews performance was perhaps still an imitation of his team-defining pre-knee surgery form, but did provide a glimpse of a little something that Garry Monk’s side have been missing without him down the middle.

Forestieri provides a chance for his side once every 38 minutes he is on the field, a statistic rivalled in the changing room only by Barry Bannan, whose 39 minutes per chance is all the more impressive for the fact he has played some 2773 minutes this season. Forestieri has played only 611.

But it is his xG stats – a measurement of analysis that produces an expected goals output of a player or team’s play – that is most impressive, with the former Italy youth international essentially producing 0.49 worth of goal opportunities per 90 minutes.

His work around the box is also higher than that of many team mates. Some 78.9 per cent of his passes in and into the final third reach a Wednesday shirt compared to the side’s average of 67.2 per cent.

Many expect Fernando Forestieri to leave the club when his contract runs out this summer. But on these numbers and on this run of games, he surely still has a role to play in their current fortunes.