Sheffield Wednesday were hapless again yesterday and in Jeff Hendrick, they have a player who needs to get up to speed quickly. The Owls were thrashed 3-0 at Swansea with all three goals massively avoidable.
Republic of Ireland international Hendric signed on the dotted line on transfer deadline day. Yesterday he played for 76 minutes in the middle of the park and didn’t really cut the mustard.
This isn’t a dig at Hendrick but more has to be expected from a player who has played at a very decent level. The 31-year-old arrives at Hillsborough as a player with 147 appearances in the Premier League to his name.
Hendrick is on loan at Wednesday from Newcastle. He’d fallen way down the pecking order there and right now he’s showing the sort of form that suggests he’s not played much football at all.
The man with 79 caps looks like he needs some more time to settle. Yesterday, Who Scored highlighted just where the player is lacking and he desperately needs to improve.
During his 76 minutes on the pitch, Hendrick was very wasteful. He completed just 74% of his 31 passes and that simply won’t do. For context, all three central defenders completed more and Hendrick has just 41 touches.
Defensively, he was pretty clumsy too. He didn’t make a single interception during his time on the pitch, whilst he also committed two fouls on the afternoon.
He was cautioned during the contest and finished with an average rating of 5.50 and for a player signed to add a calming influence to the squad that simply won’t do.
Hendrick struggles during Wednesday defeat
Given his pedigree, there is enough to suggest that Hendrick will improve. However, he’s proving a passenger right now and Xisco Munoz won’t be happy with his form.
At 31, Hendrick’s best years are perhaps behind him. With that in mind, it’s probably a wise idea that Wednesday have only taken him on loan for the current campaign.
Hendrick is capable of coming good. Right now, however, he appears to be struggling to settle and he’s providing Munoz with a sizeable conundrum.
Yesterday was a poor performance from an experienced performer. He wasn’t alone on another drab afternoon but he will know more than anyone that he simply has to be better than this.