A Sheffield Wednesday star has earned high praise following the weekend win over Millwall.
Last weekend, Sheffield Wednesday headed down to London to face Millwall in what had become a huge game at the bottom of the table.
The Lions found themselves in 21st after a heavy midweek defeat to Ipswich Town and hadn’t won in any of their last seven in all competitions.
And Sheffield Wednesday extended that run to eight after earning a commendable 2-0 win at The Den, courtesy of goals from Ike Ugbo and Anthony Musaba.
Ugbo, who joined on loan from Troyes in January, has now scored three goals in six Championship appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, having scored four in 20 whilst on loan at Cardiff City in the first half of this season.
Ike Ugbo likened to Ivan Toney after stop-start career
Ugbo began his career with Chelsea.
The eight-cap Canadian international spent time on loan with the likes of Barnsley, MK Dons, and Scunthorpe United, but failed to make an impression with anyone of them, before making his name in prolific loan spells with Roda JC and Cercle Brugge.
Genk then bought him in 2021 but a year later he signed for Troyes, then another year later, he’d be back in England, on loan at Cardiff City.
It’s been a stop-start career for the 25-year-old who’s had some very prolific spells and some not so. But right now it seems like Ugbo is in a prolific patch, and he’s now been likened to Ivan Toney.
The Brentford hotshot, who is valued at £100million and wanted by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, began his career with Newcastle United, spending time out on loan with the likes of Barnsley and Scunthorpe United, but failing to make an impression.
It was then at Peterborough United where he burst into life, earning himself a move to Brentford in 2020.
Speaking on the Football Heaven podcast, BBC pundit Rob Staton said of Ugbo:
“I am not comparing him to the player I’m about to mention, but the similarities are there. A Chelsea youngster who goes on loan to Barnsley, and doesn’t do anything, goes on loan to Scunthorpe, doesn’t do anything, muddles around for a bit and then suddenly the light switches on and he becomes a great player. That’s Ivan Toney. And Ike Ugbo… it’s weird how he’s been at Barnsley and Scunthorpe as well, hasn’t done anything, maybe the light’s just switching on now.”
Ike Ugbo bursting into life at Hillsborough
Staton makes a very interesting point in that Ugbo and Toney have had very similar career paths, with both players coming good a bit later in their careers.
And whilst Ugbo has a huge way to go before he can be compared to Toney, he’s certainly on an upwards trajectory right now.
Like Toney, Ugbo has a habit of being in the right place at the right time; poaching goals and latching onto the end of balls into the box, and right now he’s scoring a lot of crucial goals for Sheffield Wednesday in their bid for survival.
And after a fairly tough spell at Cardiff, Ugbo will be delighted that he’s showcasing what he can do in the second tier, and doing so for a Sheffield Wednesday side that’s been in the drop zone for the vast majority of the season.
Danny Rohl will be delighted with his progress and he’ll be hoping that Ugbo can get on the scoresheet once again this weekend, when the Owls welcome Bristol City to Hillsborough.