Striker Looks For A Fresh Start At Sheffield Wednesday

Over the weekend Sheffield Wednesday striker Sam Winnall posted a message on his Instagram account that was of interest both Owls and Derby County fans.

The 27-year-old forward headed out to Pride Park at the beginning of last season with Jacob Butterfield making the switch in the opposite direction but Winnall saw his season come to an end early after he picked up an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury in February.

His spell at Derby saw six goals returned in 17 Championship appearances. With his loan now at an end, there were obvious questions about his future, especially with Wednesday looking to trim our monthly outgoings at this moment in time.

If there’s a hint about how he understands his future, it’s contained with the post he made as he expects to be back at the club this pre-season fighting for his place in the starting eleven again.

So today marks my last day at Derby, I’ve loved my time here and have so many people to thank for it. From the players, to the coaching staff, to the media guys, to the kitchen staff and everybody else I worked with were amazing and made me feel so welcome even as a loan player so I can’t thank you enough. I must add a big thank you to all the medical staff who have been amazing with me throughout my rehab, you not only helped me recover and given me the best possible treatment but helped me keep my head on the down days! I will be forever grateful! Maybe our paths with cross again in the future but for now it’s goodbye and all the best ???????????? Although my focus is still to get myself back fit and on the pitch, I’m really looking forward to a fresh start back at Hillsborough and fully focused on helping the club be successful ????????

A post shared by Sam Winnall (@samwinnall) on Jun 29, 2018 at 5:42am PDT

Looking at the reactions a number of Wednesday fans don’t believe he should’ve been sent out on loan to begin with, but equally Derby fans want him back given what they saw from him before injury hit.

It’s fair to say following his January arrival at the club he hasn’t really got going given the goal return he provided Barnsley, but four strikes in 12 starting appearances and six opportunities from the bench isn’t an overly bad return in reality.

We just have to hope he hits the ground running far better this time and can justify the faith plenty seem to have in him as Winnall firing like he did at Barnsley would certainly suit our purposes as we look to move on the likes of Jordan Rhodes for financial benefits.