A former Sheffield Wednesday man has received huge praise after marking his return from injury with an ‘excellent’ performance last weekend.
The Championship was in full flow last weekend.
Sheffield Wednesday headed down to Southampton where they were thumped 4-0, leaving the Owls in 22nd and now four points adrift.
Another team on the receiving end of a four-goal haul was Blackburn Rovers; they lost 4-1 away at West Brom in a game that saw former Sheffield Wednesday man Adam Reach mark his return from injury.
Now 30 years old, Reach made his first start of the season after suffering a hamstring injury last time round, and the divisive former Owls man received huge praise from teammate Brandon Thomas-Asante after the game.
He said of Reach:
“I’d really like to give Reachy a special mention. He’s probably been an unsung hero for a large part of his time here and definitely since I’ve been here.
“The way he applies himself is brilliant. He’s been through injuries and has always come back. He’s always one of, if not the fittest member of the squad and he continues to show his quality.”
He added:
“Sometimes people don’t get a mention, but I thought he was excellent on Saturday against Blackburn.”
Adam Reach at Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday spent a reported £5million on signing Reach from Championship rivals Middlesbrough in 2016.
He went on to make an impressive 230 appearances for the Owls, scoring 24 goals with 34 assists; Reach developed a reputation for scoring goals from range whilst at Hillsborough.
In five seasons at Wednesday, Reach barely missed a game, playing a key role as the club earned a second-successive top six finish in the 2016/17 campaign.
But Reach was also part of the team that was relegated from the Championship in 2021, with the player being released at the end of that season; Reach became a widely divisive figure after some poor performances in the 2020/21 campaign.
Reach now battling for promotion to the Premier League
Former Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael brought Reach to West Brom on a free transfer in the summer of 2021 after Darren Moore and Wednesday chose to release their big money signing; Reach also went on to play under former Owls boss Steve Bruce at The Hawthorns last season.
Reach featured 34 times in the Championship in his maiden season at the club but since the start of last season has made just 21 Championship appearances owing to injury.
He’s since returned to action and with the Baggies enduring a number of injuries in attack, Reach looks as though he could play a key role for the 5th-place Championship side, who are in with a very definite chance of promotion this season.
Reach though sees his Baggies deal expire in the summer and so he could be on the move once again this year.