Sheffield Wednesday supporters will have mixed emotions about double July 28th Watford deal: View | OneFootball

Daniel Pudil and Almen Abdi experienced mixed fortunes at Sheffield Wednesday after joining the club from Watford.

Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for a much-improved season in the Championship next term, as they bid to reach previous heights again.

The Owls may have only narrowly avoided relegation last season after a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl, but optimism is high going into the new campaign following a strong summer of transfer business. Expectations have not been this high at Hillsborough since Wednesday reached the Championship play-offs in two consecutive seasons between 2015 and 2017 under Carlos Carvalhal, and some have tipped Rohl's men for a surprise promotion push in the year ahead.

While the Owls were big spenders during Carvalhal's reign, owner Dejphon Chansiri has taken a much more cautious approach in recent years, with previous transfer mistakes likely to still haunt him.

Chansiri famously set a target of promotion to the Premier League within his first two years in charge of Wednesday after taking over in 2015, and while he came incredibly close to achieving that objective, the excessive spending during that time had long-term consequences, most notably leading to the points deduction that resulted in the club's relegation to League One in 2021.

After losing to Hull City in the play-off final in 2016, Chansiri heavily backed Carvalhal in the summer transfer window, and two of his biggest investments were defender Daniel Pudil and midfielder Almen Abdi, with the former costing £1.5 million and the latter joining for £4 million.

The pair both arrived from Watford on 28th July 2016, and it was a double deal that gave Owls supporters optimism they could challenge for automatic promotion in the 2016-17 season, but it is fair to say Pudil and Abdi experienced mixed fortunes during their time in South Yorkshire.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters will have contrasting feelings about Daniel Pudil and Almen Abdi

Pudil was already a firm fan favourite at Hillsborough prior to completing his permanent move to Wednesday after spending the previous season on loan at the club, during which he scored two goals and provided four assists in 42 appearances.

That meant that the Owls could be confident that the £1.5 million fee for Pudil would be money well spent, and it proved to be the case, with the 38-year-old going on to enjoy another excellent campaign in 2016-17 as Carvalhal's men once again reached the play-offs, where they were beaten by Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals.

With age catching up with him, Pudil was moved to a centre-back role under Jos Luhukay in the latter stages of his time at Wednesday, and after falling out of favour under Steve Bruce, he was released at the end of his contract in 2019.

Pudil departed after scoring four goals and registering nine assists in 114 appearances for the Owls, and such was his strong connection with the people of Sheffield, he still lives in the city to this day and plays for local non-league side Hallam FC.

While Wednesday supporters were pleased to sign Pudil permanently, they were arguably even more excited by the arrival of Abdi, who had starred during his four-year spell at Watford, scoring 25 goals and providing 14 assists in 131 games for the Hornets.

Abdi earned a reputation as one of the best players in the Championship during his time at Vicarage Road, and after he played a crucial role in Watford's promotion to the Premier League in the 2014-15 campaign, there was hope that he could do similar for Wednesday, but it certainly did not work out that way.

The midfielder was initially a regular for the Owls, but injuries quickly began to plague him, and supporters became increasingly frustrated that they were unable to see their marquee signing in action.

Abdi's fitness issues continued throughout his time at Hillsborough, and he was released along with Pudil in 2019 after making just 23 appearances during his three-year spell at the club.

Sheffield Wednesday will still hold Almen Abdi frustration

Eight years on from Abdi's move to Hillsborough, Wednesday supporters will still be disappointed by his lack of impact at the club.

The contrast between what was expected of Abdi and what he delivered could not have been greater, and the 37-year-old will go down as one of the Owls' worst ever signings.

Abdi opened up on his time at Wednesday in an interview with The Athletic in 2021, and he believes that his difficult relationship with Carvalhal contributed to his struggles.

"The coach didn’t help me very much because I’d play two games then the third, which I didn’t play well, so he’d drop me, then drop me again and after a while, you lose confidence," Abdi said.

"I needed a manager who trusted me, who believed in me, who pushed me. He (Carvalhal) didn’t do that. He’s energetic, he’s enthusiastic. He’s a really good coach and he did well. But he didn’t trust me. He didn’t like me and I didn’t like him that much. So it was really hard mentally. I was asking myself why? What have I done?"

The midfielder said that he "asked to leave a few times, literally every six months", but The Athletic claim that while the Owls would have been willing to sanction his departure, "there was no serious interest" in his services.

Chansiri will no doubt have been disappointed that he was unable to recoup any of the transfer fee he paid for Abdi, and it is one deal that everyone at Wednesday will be desperate to forget and avoid a repeat of, as the club aims to build under Rohl.