Saido Berahino’s Sheffield Wednesday debut as new Owls signing starts ‘blowing off the cobwebs’

The Owls had a tough weekend at the office as they were beaten 3-0 by Plymouth Argyle at Home Park, with Berahino coming on for his first appearance in Wednesday colours in the second half with the score at 2-0.

Berahino, who came on alongside Theo Corbeanu and after Mide Shodipo, didn’t get too much joy as Wednesday pushed to try and get back into the game, however Moore did say that the minutes will be important for both him and the returning Queens Park Rangers loanee.

Speaking after the game, Moore told the media, “I saw signs from both Saido and Mide that they were blowing off the cobwebs… Those two will give us a different edge. It’s nice to have them in the team, but we did put them on earlier than we wanted to. We wanted to give them both probably 20/25 minutes, but we brought them on early to get them back in the game. Those minutes will be great for them.”

Meanwhile, Moore said to The Athletic, “We feel Saido can play 9, he can play 10, he can play 7 or 11, that’s the versatility he’s got. We just wanted to get him in central positions working off Lee Gregory and getting that little time and space. He’ll get sharper, he’ll get better, he’ll get quicker.

“He’s got the mindset for it and we know that he is a goal threat. We’ve got to keep getting him into positions that we had today and I’m sure, for the contact on the ball he gets in front of goal, he will score goals for us and be a good player for us. He’s a great addition to the squad.”

It suggests that Berahino, who has been given the number 24 shirt, will get an opportunity to prove his worth in various positions, and it’s pretty safe to say that Wednesday could use some goals from their new man as soon as possible.

The 28-year-old is likely to get another chance to get off the mark on Saturday when Shrewsbury Town make the trip to Hillsborough.

Corbeanu says ‘sloppy’ SWFC let down fans – but they want to put things right