How good was Sheffield Wednesday’s Fernando Forestieri in 2015/16?

Four years ago Fernando Forestieri and Sheffield Wednesday were preparing for a big day at Wembley as they chased Premier League promotion, but just how important was ‘Fessi’ that season?
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Having been brought in from Watford as Wednesday plotted a fight to re-join the top tier, the Italian youth international didn’t have to wait long before scoring his first goal in blue and white, getting off the mark in his third game – a 3-2 win over Fulham.

Forestieri, who hails from the same town as Lionel Messi, Rosario in Argentina, didn’t need long to cement himself as a favourite at Hillsborough, scoring five and assisting three in his opening 11 matches, proving to be a catalyst in turning around a poor start to the season.

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Though he won his first Player of the Month club award in December, by the time the season finished he’d been voted among the top three in five of the nine months, and ultimately won the club’s Player of the Season award - pipping Barry Bannan and Keiran Lee to the gong.

The forward directly contributed to 22 Championship goals in 36 games – 15 goals, seven assists – becoming the first Wednesday player to grab 15 goals in a single league campaign since Gary Madine managed 18 in League One in 2011/12, and the first to do it in either of the two top tiers since Mark Bright’s 19 goals in 1993/94.

In fact, the tenacious attacker contributed to more league goals in 2015/16 than all but two Wednesday players in the last two decades (Neil Mellor in 2010/11 and Steve MacLean in 2004/05 – both 23), scoring or assisting 31% of all of the club’s Championship goals that year.

He was top two in the league in terms of shots per game (3.4), top three in total shots on target (49) and top 15 for total successful dribbles (55), while only one Wednesday player made more successful tackles (95) and just four made more key passes (40). He was everywhere.

Now, with his contract due to expire, the question is, are Forestieri’s best days behind him? Or after overcoming his latest injury setback, is there still more in the tank?