Sheffield Wednesday may have acrimoniously parted ways with former boss Steve Bruce in the summer, but plenty at Hillsborough have him to thank.
The Owls practically saved themselves millions of pounds after Fulham splashed the cash on an old fan favourite this month.
It only goes to show just how smart the current Newcastle United boss was before he left for pastures new.
Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
On the Chalkboard
Michael Hector was adored by several sections of the Wednesday faithful during his season-long loan last term, he featured 39 times in all competitions, keeping 16 clean sheets, per Transfermarkt.
In the summer, these fans were demanding that the club re-sign him for the 2019/20 campaign, but after deadline day, it was soon announced that he had signed actually for Fulham although he couldn’t feature until January as the move wasn’t completed in time.
According to smarterscout, the deal was in the region of a whopping £7.5m, and despite his clear ability to dominate in the air, dribble with the ball and put in a tackle, that level of finance is extortionate.
Instead of trying to compete with that sort of fee, Bruce elected to sign German centre-back Julian Borner on a free transfer from 2. Bundesliga outfit Arminia Bielefeld.
And what a move that has turned out to be, subsequently saving the club millions in the process.
Can you remember how much each of these transfer icons cost? Only experts will get 100% on our quiz…
The 28-year-old has been a rock at the back for the Owls this season, so much so that they concede fewer goals with him starting, then without him featuring, per this article here.
Per WhoScored, Borner this season has won more aerial duels and offsides per game than Hector last campaign while also managing to restrict the opposition to fewer dribbles. His passing success rate is far greater, at 80.1% compared to the former Chelsea man’s 68.6%.
Therefore, Bruce pulled a blinder this summer which has no doubt helped the side financially.
And in other news, Monk must steer clear of this transfer target as he’s too similar to Sam Winnall…
