Barry Bannan features: 3 August transfers Sheffield Wednesday will want to emulate before Deadline Day | OneFootball

Three August signings that Sheffield Wednesday will want any new arrivals this month to emulate

Highlights

Sheffield Wednesday pulled off the great escape from relegation to League One last season.

Danny Rohl earned a lot of plaudits for turning around the Owls’ fortunes after relegation had looked all but certain when he was appointed.

The German will now be hoping to continue leading the club up the Championship table over the coming campaign.

Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to avoid any kind of relegation scrap and cement themselves as being in the mix for a top half finish, and perhaps higher still.

The transfer window is open until 30 August as the club seeks further reinforcement in aid of that goal.

Here we look at three of the club’s best August signings that they will be hoping to emulate with any future incomings this month…

Barry Bannan

Barry Bannan joined Sheffield Wednesday in August 2015 on a one-year deal and has gone on to cement himself as a modern club legend.

The midfielder has made almost 400 appearances for the club in all competitions in the near decade since (all stats from Fbref).

He was a key part of the team as they competed for Premier League promotion and has been a stalwart of their rise back to the Championship after suffering relegation in 2021.

If any new signing that comes in this month could have half his longevity with the club, then they’d have gotten great value for money, let alone if the player has a similar impact on the pitch too.

His leadership qualities for Sheffield Wednesday have also been immense and having him in the current squad will help ease in any new additions to life at Hillsborough.

Adam Reach

Adam Reach signed from Middlesbrough in August 2016 and immediately cemented himself as a key part of the Owls’ first team squad.

The midfielder made 39 league appearances in his first year at the club, helping them come fourth in the Championship table.

While the club’s form dipped the following campaign, he stepped up his performances by contributing four goals and 11 assists as the team came 15th.

Reach was a strong addition to the side, provided a credible attacking threat, and added versatility to his game that made him a very valuable asset.

While things ended in underwhelming fashion, with Reach departing as a free agent in 2021, he proved a very useful player to have in the squad for the majority of his tenure, which any incoming August signing would do well to emulate.

Fernando Forestieri

Fernando Forestieri signed for Sheffield Wednesday in August 2015, arriving from Watford in a deal worth a reported €3 million (£2.6m).

The forward made a strong first impression with the Yorkshire outfit, performing excellently in his first couple of seasons with the club.

He scored 27 goals from 71 appearances as the team finished sixth and fourth, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

While the end of his time at Hillsborough was somewhat underwhelming, eventually leaving as a free agent in 2020, he still provided the club with plenty of positive moments.