Sheffield Wednesday new boy Jeff Hendrick could be in line to make his debut against Ipswich Town this weekend, following his deadline day loan move from Newcastle United.
The 31-year-old arrived on deadline day along with John Buckley.
He’s just returned from international duty with Republic of Ireland and now all of his focus will be on Ipswich Town, and on getting Sheffield Wednesday up and out of the bottom three.
And speaking to the club ahead of his potential debut this weekend, Hendrick candidly and comically spoke of his Owls initiation process, saying:
“It got threw on me. Walked out and the manager straight away, circle brought me into the middle and said; ‘X Factor time’… I could’ve crumbled on the spot but I just had to sing something and entertain the lads for a little bit.”
Then asked what he sung, Hendrick said:
“Ice Ice Baby, it was the only thing that came to my head. One of the lads was clapping so there was a bit of a beat and I just went with it.”
MORE SHEFF WED STORIES
Hendrick up for the challenge at Wednesday…
Hendrick is a player with great experience and great pedigree, and it looks by all accounts that he’s settled into the group well.
He spoke fondly of his teammates in his most recent interview and it’ll be interesting to see how Xisco Munoz deploys him, or if he deploys him against Ipswich this weekend.
The Owls now have some good options in the middle of the park in Barry Bannan, George Byers, Tyreeq Bakinson, Will Vaulks, Buckley, and Hendrick, with Momo Diaby set to return to the group in the coming weeks too.
Saturday’s game is another tough one for the Owls but they put in a very good shift against Leeds United last season, with this month’s international break coming at a very good time for the club too.
The game kicks off at 3pm at Hillsborough on Saturday.