Danny Rohl is rapidly uncovering a new secret weapon at Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 in the Championship on Tuesday night, securing a fourth-straight league win in the process.
The Owls now find themselves in the drop zone only on goal difference after an unprecedented run of form which now sees them sitting just a couple of points behind Plymouth in 16th.
Watford in 12th are only six points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday, who all of a sudden have a team of players who are really gelling together and shining as individuals.
Ike Ugbo and Ian Poveda are the ones who everyone is talking about right now; Poveda in particular looked dangerous on Tuesday night and was unlucky to see what would’ve been his first goal for the club ruled out.
Pol Valentin beginning to really shine at Sheffield Wednesday
Poveda found himself through on goal in the first half after right wing-back Pol Valentin flashed a tidy pass across the 18-yard line for the Leeds United loan man to finish.
Valentin was everywhere last night; putting in tackles and cutting off passing lanes, playing good passes of his own and getting forward, and back, at every given opportunity.
But The Star gave him a fairly mediocre 6/10 rating last night, with Joe Crann adding:
“Absolutely tireless – once again a ball of energy. Could have had an assist but for the linesman’s flag and all of a sudden looks a very solid player at this level. Dispossessed a few times – off late for Palmer.”
As per Sofascore, 27-year-old Valentin made 20 out of 28 passes (71% completion), winning 4 out of 11 duels, with 1 key pass to his name.
Still room for improvement, but Valentin is becoming a key player
Like Crann’s assessment of Valentin’s game vs Plymouth suggests, and his stats too, there’s still plenty of room for improvement where the Spaniard is concerned.
But looking at his performances now compared to the start of the season is astonishing.
He looked as though he was struggling to settle into the side and into the Championship under Xisco Munoz, though Rohl has shown great faith in him and now Valentin is repaying that faith.
He took his chance when Dominic Iorfa got injured and now Valentin has that right wing-back spot locked down.
Sheffield Wednesday have a real creative force on the left in Marvin Johnson and they’re steadily getting one on the right with Valentin, who’s showcasing his physical attributes in games, and with a bit of work on his passing and general play when on the ball, he could become a really top Championship player.
And he now looks set to play a key part in the final run-in for Sheffield Wednesday, with just 12 games left to play now.
Up next is Leeds United on Friday night.