Rating Sheffield Wednesday’s 2020/21 signings shows why they HAVE to do better

Sheffield Wednesday need a drastically improved hit rate when it comes to the signings they make this summer under Darren Moore.
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The Owls by no means quiet in the transfer market last season, and while the January window only saw them pick up a couple of new signings, the summer one signalled the arrival of a lot of new faces coming in under Garry Monk.

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Looking back, there’s been a varied level of success for those that came in, however many will be leaving the club having never played in front of Wednesdayites and without making any sort of real impact at the club.

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Based on what they achieved during their season at Hillsborough, the amount of games they played and the general success of the transfer, we’ve ranked them all out of five stars – it’s not great.

Josh Windass – ★★★★

Statistically, Windass was the best signing that Wednesday made this season, proven by the fact that he was well up there when it came to picking the winner of the Player of the Season award in what was an incredibly difficult campaign.

The forward made the matchday squad for 43 Championship games this season and played in 41 of the 46 – something that was somewhat of a rarity in an injury-ravaged campaign for the Owls.

Sheffield Wednesday's 2020/21 were a very mixed bag. (Pic Steve Ellis)Sheffield Wednesday's 2020/21 were a very mixed bag. (Pic Steve Ellis)
Sheffield Wednesday's 2020/21 were a very mixed bag. (Pic Steve Ellis)

With 10 goals and six assists in all competitions, the 27-year-old directly contributed to more goals than any other player at the club and ended the campaign as the only Wednesday player to land double figures in the goalscoring department.

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Picked up for around £500,000, Windass was a good value-for-money purchase and you’d think that there is profit to be made on him now if offers came in to try and keep him in the Championship next season.

Callum Paterson - ★★★

A solid signing in many respects. A willing runner, and an absolute workhorse that chipped in with a decent amount of goals in his first campaign in blue and white.

Picked up nine goals in the Championship and was almost always available, playing in all 43 games that he was available for and chipping in with four assists on top of that to take his goal contributions to 13 for the campaign – only Windass achieved more than that.

Wasn’t quite the like-for-like striker that some Wednesday fans had hoped for after Steven Fletcher left, but he’s not known for having a goalscoring prowess like his fellow Scot, and could never be faulted for effort.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru - ★★

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A tough season for the young lad, who was never expected to come in and be a starter straight away. It always felt as though Dele-Bashiru was seen as one for the future after joining from Manchester City, but did look like a bright spark when given the chance.

Fans saw a glimpse of what he was capable of with some bursting runs and direct style of play, however a cynical challenge against Brentford saw him ruled out for a length of time just before Moore’s arrival. Certainly feels like there’s more to come from him.

Izzy Brown (loan) - ★

The curious case of Izzy Brown – a top performer for Luton Town in the Championship, a player known for his creativity and ability to unlock a defence, but a player who just couldn’t seem to get a game at Wednesday.

His partnership with Massimo Luongo and Barry Bannan looked bright at first, and he actually finished the season with one of the highest key passes per 90 minutes tallies (1.7) at the club, but was overlooked by numerous managers.

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Will be remembered, sadly, for *that* corner against Rotherham United.

Chey Dunkley - ★★

It took him a long time to get back from injury and only made his debut in December. It was a decent start for him as he became a very vocal focal point in the backline, but then another injury meant another spell on the sidelines.

In the end he managed 12 appearances in the Championship, and apologised to fans after relegation for giving away a penalty in the 3-3 draw with Derby County.

Elias Kachunga - ★

Most definitely a season to forget for the former Huddersfield Town man.

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He made 27 appearances in the league, starting nine times, and ended the campaign without a single league goal to his name. His only goal came in the Carabao Cup against now League Two side, Rochdale.

Jack Marriott (loan) - ★

Marriott will go down in infamy as one of the club’s worst season-long loan signings.

In a campaign blighted by injuries and absences, the Derby loanee managed just 397 minutes across all competitions and left the club with just four starts and zero goals to show for it.

Aden Flint (loan) - ★

One that got away, really. Flint looked strong in his four games in a Wednesday shirt. He was big, he was powerful, and he looked like a real leader that seemed to slot right in.

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Sadly though, a serious hamstring injury saw him return to Cardiff City where he went on to finish the season strongly after recovering.

Sam Hutchinson - ★★★

Solid, truly. His return was questioned by those who spoke of his disciplinary and injury record, but neither of those became an issue as he missed just the one game and only received four bookings.

Didn’t have too many ‘wow’ moments, but wears his heart on his sleeve and was arguably one of the top performers in the second half of the season.

Andre Green - ★★

Brought in in January on the back of a long period out of the game, Green battled with niggles and knocks but did look quite bright when he did get a chance to play.

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He’s direct and quick, and the Middlesbrough game showed a glimpse of what he can offer. Could be a big player in League One.

Next season there need to be more hits than misses, it’s of vital importance.

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