Chelsea decision allowed Sheffield Wednesday to hit the jackpot | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday took advantage of Chelsea's decision in the summer of 2014 and it was to their benefit.

Chelsea made the decision to part ways with Sam Hutchinson in the summer of 2014 after he was unable to break into their first-team squad, much to the benefit of Sheffield Wednesday.

The versatile defender had spent the second half of the 2013/14 campaign on loan with the Owls, featuring nine times in the Championship as the team earned a 16th-place finish in the Championship.

His departure from Stamford Bridge opened the door for a permanent move to Hillsborough that summer, which the club took full advantage of.

Hutchinson arrived as a free agent, with Stuart Gray looking to improve the squad in order to challenge for a top half position in the table in 2015.

The defensive midfielder proved a bargain addition for the Owls, with Hutchinson becoming a useful member of the team over an eight-year affiliation with the club.

Sam Hutchinson’s impact at Sheffield Wednesday

Hutchinson’s initial loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday wasn’t the most exciting stint from a young player, featuring just 10 times in the league, but the defender showed enough to justify a permanent move that summer.

Following his move in 2014, the centre-back cemented himself as a regular in Gray’s side, making 20 appearances in the Championship as the Owls finished 13th in the table.

Gray’s departure as manager in the summer of 2015 led to the player actually becoming even more important to the team over the next two seasons under new boss, Carlos Carvalhal.

Hutchinson proved a very useful part of the squad following the arrival of the Portuguese coach, making a further 58 appearances in the Championship over the next two seasons, as they fought for promotion to the Premier League.

The Yorkshire outfit earned a place in the play-offs in back-to-back campaigns, coming sixth and then fourth in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

While they were unable to get over the line in either term, Hutchinson’s performances were part of the reason for their clear upwards trajectory, despite his role in their penalty shootout loss to Reading in 2017.

Given he was signed as a free agent after being offloaded by Chelsea, this was a great bit of business from Sheffield Wednesday and a great turnaround for a player who as of July 2025, is still playing football for AFC Wimbledon.

That's despite having suffered a heart attack in a game against Grimsby Town in May this year, after which he successfully underwent heart surgery.

Hutchinson move was a bargain for Wednesday

Hutchinson never quite became undroppable during his time at Sheffield Wednesday, with his most appearances in a league campaign totalling 33 during that second promotion-chasing season under Carvalhal in 16/17.

He played an average of 21.2 times in the league across his final five years at Hillsborough, with the club’s form declining during that period, but he provided consistent and reliable performance levels throughout his Wednesday career, and so he provided real value to the team as a result.

Hutchinson even left the club briefly in the summer of 2020, signing for Cypriot side Pafos FC after his contract had expired. However, he would spend just half-a-season there, before returning to Hillsborough on a free transfer in January 2021.

Sheffield Wednesday slipped out of the Championship in that 2020/21 season however, after coming 15th, 12th, 16th and then 24th over the last four campaigns.

While Hutchinson stayed around for life in League One, playing 28 times as the club once again missed out on promotion with disappointment in the play-offs, he eventually departed the club for a second time in the summer of 2022, making the switch to Reading.

The defender did depart the League One side as a free agent, but there is no denying that he proved a bargain signing despite the lack of a fee coming in for his exit.

Signed for nothing from Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday will always be thankful to the Blues for their decision to let the player go in 2014, and he remains one of the club's biggest bargain buys in recent times.