Sheffield Wednesday have played host to some prolific, well-liked strikers in past seasons.
Atdhe Nuhiu springs to mind when thinking of well-liked Sheffield Wednesday strikers of the recent past.
Gary Madine, Neil Mellor, Steven Fletcher, and Lucas Joao are some other names who played for the Owls and proved prolific, and Bailey Cadamarteri is the newest.
The 18-year-old has broken into the first-team under Danny Rohl and already has three goals to his name in the Championship.
Another name who’s something of a ‘blast from the past’ though is Connor Wickham; the now 31-year-old played for Sheffield Wednesday on loan on three separate occasions.
Connor Wickham at Sheffield Wednesday
Dave Jones first brought Wickham to Hillsborough on loan in February 2013. He signed on a one-month deal from Sunderland and scored once, before returning later in the year.
Wickham was once again on loan and he spent nearly three months at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring eight goals in 11 Championship appearances, including one in the memorable 6-0 win over Leeds United in January 2014.
Jones, who signed Wickham twice at Sheffield Wednesday, described him as a ‘talented’ player who he wanted to make a permanent Wednesday player at the time.
Wickham would go on to spend several years with Crystal Palace, but injury prevented him from kicking on at Selhurst Park.
He spent a lot of his time out on loan but failed to really make an impression anywhere, including upon his return to Sheffield Wednesday during the 2019/20 season in which he scored twice in 13 league appearances.
What is Wickham up to now?
Wickham was last at Cardiff City.
After spells in League One with MK Dons and Forest Green Rovers, he returned to the Championship with the Bluebirds, signing in February this year on a deal until the end of the season.
In 12 Championship appearances, Wickham scored once and assisted twice before being released by the Welsh club, and he remains without a club.
Whether or not he returns to the game remains to be seen.
As an experienced pro coming off the back of a spell in the Championship, he’ll have no doubt had offers from teams in the Football League, but it seems like he might be biding his time.
He’s had his injury problems and so it could be a case of working his way back to fitness before finding a new club, should that be what he wants to do.
At Wednesday though, Wickham was something of a cult hero after that prolific spell during the 2013/14 season.
He showed great all-round qualities as a striker, scoring some important goals for the club and earning his eventual appearances in the Premier League with Sunderland and Crystal Palace.