The two players who helped persuade Billy Mitchell to join Sheffield Wednesday from Millwall
SWFC’s latest signing is out in Hungary with them on a pre-season training camp
One current and former Owl helped persuade Billy Mitchell to join Sheffield Wednesday.
The 25-year-old central midfielder has signed a three-year contract at Hillsborough after deciding to leave his boyhood Millwall, where he has been since he was 15. Mitchell came through the academy at The New Den, making almost 200 appearances in total, including 30 last season as they missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing in the Championship play-off semi-final.
Mitchell has joined in time to link-up with the group for their week-long training camp in Hungary and Austria and he revealed that Barry Bannan and Massimo Luongo helped him make his decision. Bannan had a short spell at Millwall last season before returning to Wednesday earlier this month, while Luongo has also played for both clubs.
“Sheffield Wednesday is a massive club,” Mitchell said. “Everyone knows that. Getting to play at Hillsborough in front of all the fans is going to be incredible. Baz put in a good word, as did a lot of the lads I've played against before over the years. It's always nice to see a familiar face, and for him to put in a good word for me just helps you settle in a little bit easier. He is a club legend and has said many good things about the team.
“I spoke to Massimo Longo as well, and he had plenty of good things to say. Said I'd really enjoy it. So I'm just looking forward to getting to experience more of it by the day.”
Having spent the last 10 years at Millwall, moving somewhere new could be seen to be daunting but Mitchell is raring to go for the challenge ahead as they aim to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt. Mitchell could make his non-competitive debut for Wednesday in Saturday’s behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke City in Austria.
“It's a lot of change,” he added. “I've been at Millwall since I was 15, I'm 25 now, so 10 years, but it's an exciting time for me, getting to live in a new area, meet new people, new staff. It's going to take a little bit of adjusting to, but everyone's been so friendly. I've only been here a few days, but I'm really enjoying myself so far.”