Wycombe Wanderers: Last-gasp Middlesbrough steal helped revive player's career - View | OneFootball

After two below-par loan spells, Wycombe Wanderers took a punt on Lewis Wing in January 2022. This move proved to be the catalyst to revive his career

Middlesbrough midfielder Lewis Wing spent the first half of the 2021/22 season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. After a poor start to life in South Yorkshire, the midfielder was out of the picture come January.

Thankfully, he was snatched by Wycombe Wanderers at the eleventh hour on deadline day. That move would prove to be the catalyst that re-established Wing's reputation as a top midfielder.

After two less-than-successful loan spells in Yorkshire with Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, the man who played non-league a few years prior found himself in a sticky situation. With his form not enough to get him in the picture at his loan club, there was little chance Wing would be able to head back to parent club Middlesbrough and stake a claim in the squad. He had to get his next move bang on.

Fortunately, a move to Wednesday's promotion rivals Wycombe would be completed just minutes before the transfer window slammed shut. Had the man from Newton Aycliffe not got the deal over the line, he may not have been in the position he is today.

Wing's rise to the Championship and loan spell struggles

The midfielder achieved the dream of every non-league footballer when Boro snapped him up from Shildon in 2017. After netting an outrageous 37 goals for the Northern League outfit in 2016/17, he earned a pre-contract with the Championship club in March.

After debuting in the EFL Cup, he would experience his first taste of professional league football on loan at Yeovil Town. The non-league import joined the Glovers in January 2018, featuring 20 times and netting three goals in what proved to be a great learning curve for Wing. His parent club would subsequently renew his contract, keeping the midfielder at the club until the end of the following season.

He returned to Teesside in June 2018, which meant that he would remain at the club this time rather than head out on loan. Having done enough to earn a further contract extension, Wing featured 80 times in the Championship, scoring 12 goals over the next three seasons. That established the former non-league journeyman as a crucial part of the first team at Middlesbrough.

This would all change though, as the former Premier League side continued to strengthen, which saw Wing slowly beginning to fall out of favour. Having only made a handful of appearances for the Reds in the 2020/21 campaign, he was allowed to leave the club on loan for the second half of the season. The 25-year-old ended up joining Yorkshire side Rotherham, who were at the opposite end of the Championship table to Boro, fighting against relegation to League One.

It would be a fairly average loan for the central midfielder, as he notched up 20 appearances and two goals in the league, which wasn't enough to keep the Millers in the second tier. Paul Warne's men were relegated in last place, after being leapfrogged by Wycombe on the final day.

Still having a year on his contract, Boro opted to send Wing on loan once again and evaluate whether he would have a future at the Riverside.

Whilst Yorkshire would be the destination again, he opted to join up with Rotherham’s bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday, who’d also been relegated alongside the Millers. On paper, it seemed to be a good signing for the Owls as by now the midfielder had racked up over 100 Championship appearances.

It would prove to be the complete opposite though, as the 26-year-old came under fire from Wednesday's fans, as he failed to meet expectations in what was a poor start to the season.

He failed to score in 18 league outings, which was unexpected given his reputation for being an attacking-minded midfielder. Having fallen down the pecking order of the League One giants, Wing’s time at Hillsborough would be brought to an early end in January.

Escaping Sheffield Wednesday loan gave Wing a fresh start

Amid interest from Portsmouth on deadline day, his parent club Middlesbrough, who’d been tracking the midfielder’s progress, had seen enough to decide the man they poached from non-league didn’t have a future in Teesside.

However, Pompey and Boro were unable to strike a deal, which left Wing in limbo with just hours remaining of the transfer window. Fortunately, a late push from Wednesday’s promotion rivals Wycombe would see the former Yeovil star get his move away from the Riverside.

The loan agreement was terminated with immediate effect between Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday, with Wing heading down to Buckinghamshire on a free transfer. An initial contract until the end of the season was agreed.

The second part of 2021/22 wouldn’t be a resounding success, but it was an improvement to the first half of the season. The midfielder featured 15 times for the Chairboys but did score an excellent brace in a 3-1 victory over Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road.

Ainsworth’s men would go one better than Wing’s former club Wednesday, as the Owls fell to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals. The former Wednesday player would make it to the final, coming on as a substitute in the 55th minute. Unfortunately, there would be no return to the Championship for Wycombe and Wing, as Sunderland beat Wanderers 2-0 at Wembley.

At the end of his contract, the January recruit decided to remain loyal to his new club despite interest from elsewhere. This would prove to be the correct decision, as Wing would go on to have the best season of his career thus far.

Wycombe reaped the rewards of revitalised Wing before a disappointing exit

The first part of the campaign would be a mixed bag for Wycombe. A rocky start saw the Chairboys as low as 20th before they clicked into gear and rose to play-off contention once again.

Wing had started to establish himself in the Wanderers' starting lineup, something he’d failed to do the season prior. His performances in the middle of the park were steadily improving, which coincided with Wycombe’s results picking up.

Something was changing with the 27-year-old over his short period in Buckinghamshire. His confidence was coming back, and he was gradually becoming a different player to the one that had come through the door just months before.

The goals began to come thick and fast and by the time January 2023 came around, the Wanderers star was in red-hot form. Memorable braces against Peterborough United and Derby County helped his team climb the table and get right into contention for a playoff spot.

These performances didn’t go unnoticed either, as there were a whole host of Championship clubs keeping an eye on Wycombe’s number ten, whose contract was up in the summer. Sadly, Wing’s excellent form wouldn’t continue. When Ainsworth departed for QPR in late February, the performance levels dropped massively for the midfielder under new boss Matt Bloomfield.

There was speculation as to why this might be the case, with some fans suggesting he was being used in a deeper midfield role by Bloomfield that didn’t allow him to play to his strengths. Others suggested that his head was turned by the interest from higher up, and he was happy to just see out the season and move on to a new club.

His parting gift to Wycombe was a goal straight out of the top drawer in a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth on the final day of the 2022/23 season. With the score poised at 1-1, Wing spotted goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi off his line. The midfielder shot from the halfway line, lifting the ball over the former Tottenham keeper to give the Chairboys the lead once again.

Scoring nine goals and laying off five assists in 44 league matches, it was the best season of the former Shildon man’s career to date, as he ended the season as Wycombe's joint-top scorer. He had proven to be a late bloomer already after making it as a pro at 23 years old, so it wasn’t a huge surprise that the now 27-year-old had come on as well as he did this season.

After a ninth-place finish, Bloomfield offered his star man a new contract at Adams Park, but Wing rejected it and looked destined for a Championship reunion with Ainsworth at QPR. Despite speculation of a move to the second tier, recently relegated Reading secured the services of the ex-Wanderers star, much to the disappointment of the Chairboys fans.

His time in Bucks proved to be the turning point in his career, as the midfielder bettered his previous season in his first campaign with the Royals. His impressive tally of ten goals and eight assists reflected just how far Wing had progressed since his move to Wycombe.

Wing scored on his return to Adams Park, controversially celebrating in front of the home fans who once adored him, a move that seemed disrespectful towards the club that helped revive his career. Despite this, Reading finished seven places behind the Chairboys in the league that season.

Both Wycombe and Wing shared the spoils of their tenure working together, which has helped the latter go on to establish himself as a top League One midfielder once again.