Sheffield Wednesday: £3m signing from Norwich City could have delivered Premier League promotion - View | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are a side that have bounced around the Championship and League One in recent times.

However, it wasn’t too long ago that the South Yorkshire outfit were also knocking on the door to be a Premier League team.

The Owls have been around the bottom end of the Championship for several seasons when they have been in that division, but in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, Sheffield Wednesday had great chances of reaching the top flight of English football once more.

In the 2015/16 season, the Owls finished in sixth place and made it all the way to the play-off final, only for them to be beaten by Hull City.

The following campaign, Carlos Carvalhal regrouped his side, and they had another excellent season, this time finishing in fourth place. But they were unable to reach the play-off final this time, as they were beaten by Huddersfield Town.

So, it could have been very different for the Owls, especially if forward Gary Hooper had stayed fit in both campaigns, as his £3 million arrival from Norwich City was a good capture, but it may be looked back on as 'what if' in terms of promotion to the Premier League.

Sheffield Wednesday signed Gary Hooper for £3 million

Hooper first broke into senior football at Southend United, but it was on loan at Hereford where he started to get attention, as he netted 11 times in 19 League Two games.

He then got a move to Scunthorpe United, where he continued his scoring exploits, and that landed him an impressive move to Scottish giants Celtic.

Continuing to bang the goals in for fun, Hooper was prolific north of the border as he scored 82 goals in 137 appearances for the Hoops, and ahead of the 2013/14 season, Norwich City decided to pursue Hooper and managed to get a deal over the line, but he was unable to replicate that scoring touch in the Premier League as much as he'd done elsewhere.

The striker spent just two-and-a-half seasons with the Canaries before he left the club and joined Sheffield Wednesday in a deal that reportedly cost the club £3 million.

Hooper was looking to rediscover his touch in front of goal, and he certainly did that with Wednesday. It is just a shame that injuries also played a part.

Gary Hooper could have delivered Premier League football at Sheffield Wednesday

When Wednesday signed Hooper, the Owls would have been hoping the player could find his scoring touch once again, while the player himself would have been wanting to get back to playing and enjoying his football.

The move soon started to seem that it was a perfect fit, as once up to full fitness, Hooper started playing more minutes, and the goals soon followed.

Hooper ended that 2015/16 season by playing 29 times in the Championship, during which he scored 13 goals as he helped the club reach the play-off final.

Going into the 2016/17 season, there was hope that Hooper could replicate his form and help the Owls go one step further, and while Wednesday did finish in fourth place, it wasn’t the best of seasons for Hooper, as injuries played a huge part in him not having more of an impact.

Out of 46 Championship games, Hooper appeared in just half, with him starting 17 and averaging just 63 minutes on the pitch.

The forward did still grab goals, but he was unable to hit the heights of the previous campaign, as he scored just six goals, averaging one every 241 minutes of football and 0.3 per game.

The former Norwich City striker could have possibly scored more, as he was averaging a shot per game and did miss three big chances, and Hooper finished that season with a goal conversion of 25%, as per Sofascore.com.

So, it shows that the striker was being prolific in front of goal, but injuries stopped him from participating in more games, and importantly, it meant he didn’t feature in the play-off semi-final double header against Huddersfield.

Sheffield Wednesday did well enough to reach the play-offs without having to rely on Hooper, but it would have been nice for the Owls to have had him available for the games against the Terriers.

Who knows, if the striker was fit and available, it could have turned out completely different for Wednesday, and the 2017/18 season could have been one where Sheffield Wednesday were in the Premier League.

Hooper’s time at the club may always be looked back on, with "what if he was fit for those play-offs?", because the club could have possibly fulfilled their Premier League dream once more if he had been.