Sheffield Wednesday beating Leeds United and Reading FC to Watford star was meant to be: View | OneFootball

Fernando Forestieri became somewhat of a streets won't forget player for Sheffield Wednesday after signing from Watford.

The 29th of August 2015 will be a day that Sheffield Wednesday fans will remember for years to come as they managed to secure the signature of Fernando Forestieri from Watford.

A fan favourite throughout his career, Wednesday managed to beat Leeds United and Reading to his signature, with the former supposedly pulling out of any potential deal due to Forestieri's "mentality".

This allowed Wednesday to scoop the Italian from under Leeds' and Uwe Rosler's nose in a deal worth £3 million.

Whilst the latter stages of his five years at Hillsborough left somewhat to be desired, his initial burst onto the stage was quite remarkable and the forward provided Owls fans with some special, everlasting moments.

At 34-years-old, he is nearing the end of his career and reflecting on his years with the blue and white side of Sheffield, there is much to look back on fondly.

Fernando Forestieri takes Sheffield Wednesday to the verge of the Premier League

Having struggled for game time in Watford's 2014-15 Championship promotion season, Forestieri made the move to Wednesday with hopes of revitalising his career.

His 44 goal contributions across 92 games for the Hornets suggested that he would be able to transfer this to Watford and that he did.

Just three games into his Owls career, he opened the scoring with a header in an impressive 3-2 win over Fulham. This goal was a hint of what was to come, and the shadow striker continued to bag frequently, netting 15 in 36 league appearances that season.

These contributions saw him take his side into sixth place and secure a play-off spot for the first time since their re-arrival in the second tier.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, the play-offs were a mixture of happiness and despair. After making their way to the final following a 2-0 aggregate win over Brighton, the Owls were defeated by a 72nd-minute long-range effort from Mo Diame, who took Hull City back to the Premier League.

This didn't deter Forestieri and Wednesday, who in the following season continued to be a force in the Championship.

Whilst his numbers dropped marginally, 17 goal contributions across 2,484 minutes of league football was still a strong return, and he helped Wednesday improve their points tally by seven points as they finished in fourth place.

Once again, it was to be the play-offs, but this time they were defeated in the semi-final in devastating circumstances.

After two gruelling games against Huddersfield Town, the sides couldn't be separated, so it was down to penalties and despite Kieran Westwood saving the Terrier's fifth penalty, Forestieri couldn't convert his and Wednesday were confined to another season in the second tier.

Unfortunately, the 2017-18 campaign was rather summed up for the Owls by the injury that occurred to Forestieri. With their key attacking threat missing for 36 games of the season, the Yorkshire-based club slumped to 15th place.

However, when available, the Italian still highlighted his importance with six goal contributions in 558 minutes of football.

Injuries once again plagued the forward the following campaign, but he did manage to score possibly the best goal of his career with an absolute belter in a 2-2 draw against Norwich City. Commentator Daniel Mann summed up not only the goal but Forestieri's season perfectly.

His final season with Wednesday was marred by injuries and suspensions, with his tally dropping off significantly as he registered just two goals across the whole season.

With Covid-19 hitting in mid-March, the forward rejected a contract to extend his deal beyond June and with that he played his final game in a woeful 5-0 defeat to promotion hopefuls Brentford.

His departure marked the end of an era, and the Owls didn't fair much better without him as they were consigned to League One football a year later after finishing in 24th place.

Despite the challenges and injuries in his later years, Fernando Forestieri's early impact and memorable performances ensure he will always hold a special place in the hearts of Sheffield Wednesday fans.