Xisco Munoz reveals why Sheffield Wednesday have signed Pol Valentin | OneFootball

Highlights

Pol Valentin has signed for Sheffield Wednesday from Sporting Gijon to mark Xisco Munoz’s fourth signing of the summer transfer window.

Ashley Fletcher, Reece James and Juan Delgado have all signed on the dotted line for the Owls as they prepare for Championship football, after being promoted at the second attempt with their last-minute Wembley winners over local rivals Barnsley.

Hillsborough will once again see second-tier football, and recruits will be needed following the departures of Dennis Adeniran, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Jack Hunt and more, alongside the expiring loan of Aden Flint.

But in Valentin, the Yorkshire-based club have recruited an experienced right-back to replace Hunt, and at the age of just 26, there is room to develop in S6 should the Owls work their way up the table.

What has Xisco Munoz said about the deal to bring in Pol Valentin?

Speaking to Sheffield Wednesday’s official website, Munoz said: “Pol is a very good talent, he’s a young guy, he’s one of the important players we now have in our squad.

“He has very good intensity. I know a lot about Pol, not only his capacity as a footballer but a personality as well and this is very good.

“This is important because I know exactly what he can give to the team. He was with me when he was very young with Gimnàstic and I know how he has progressed. I have followed his career and how he has been working in Spain. He is a good, young player who can do very good things for Sheffield Wednesday.”

Who is Pol Valentin?

Valentin started his career at Gimnastic, a club based in Catalonia, Spain. Making 27 appearances for the club between 2018 and 2020, he joined Valencia’s B team, though he failed to make any appearances for the La Liga men's first team before joining Madrid-based side Fuenlabrada. Here, he made 55 appearances for the side from the capital, though a bigger club came calling.

From there, strong appearances saw him join fellow second division giants Sporting Gijon; but, despite recording a paltry 17th placed-finish, the Rojiblancos weren’t relegated and despite living to fight another day, the right-back called time upon his career on the north Spanish coast.

Of course, the Spaniard has opted to spend another term in the second-tier - albeit in a different country, with Wednesday stepping in to sign him - and being a long-term target of Munoz's, you would expect Valentin to feature quite regularly up and down the country.

With Jack Hunt gone, Valentin has a much clearer run at the right-back berth created by his departure.

Liam Palmer will still likely be the first player to step into the right-back role, whilst Dominic Iorfa can step out of central defence if needed at a push.