Sheffield Wednesday caused Rotherham United anger with unforgettable double transfer swoop
It is fair to say that the 2022-23 season was one to remember for Sheffield Wednesday as they won promotion from League One.
While a late-season collapse saw Wednesday miss out on automatic promotion to Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town, they did accumulate an impressive total of 96 points, which would almost certainly have been enough to earn a top two spot in any other campaign.
It looked as though the Owls’ promotion hopes had been crushed after they were beaten 4-0 at Peterborough United in their play-off semi-final first leg, but Darren Moore’s men then staged one of the most remarkable comebacks ever seen in the EFL to overturn the deficit in the second leg at Hillsborough before securing their progression to the final after a penalty shootout victory.
Wednesday supporters could have been forgiven for thinking that their season could not get any more dramatic, but just as the final against Barnsley at Wembley looked destined to be heading for spot-kicks, Josh Windass popped up with a 123rd-minute winner to seal his side’s promotion back to the Championship following a two-year absence.
Of course, the incredible play-off campaign will be the lasting memories of that season for the Owls, but the foundations for success were really built during the summer transfer window, with a double raid of Rotherham United proving to be crucial.
Sheffield Wednesday frustrated Rotherham United with double transfer deal
Having experienced heartbreak in the play-off semi-finals against Sunderland the previous season, Wednesday were determined not to suffer the same fate again in the 2022-23 campaign, and Moore’s recruitment sent a strong message to the rest of League One before a ball had even been kicked.
Unlike the previous summer, the Owls got their transfer business underway early with the additions of David Stockdale, Ben Heneghan and Will Vaulks, and it was no coincidence that they all possessed plenty of third tier experience as Moore looked to build a more resilient mentality in his squad, which is something that had arguably been missing at the club for some time.
Moore had become known for his excellent recruitment, but when speculation emerged linking Wednesday with Rotherham duo Michael Ihiekwe and Michael Smith, few gave them much of a chance of actually landing the pair, particularly as the Millers had just won promotion to the Championship.
Ihiekwe had been linked with Derby County earlier in the summer, but the takeover uncertainty at Pride Park prevented the Rams from sealing a deal, and Millers manager Paul Warne insisted he was “confident” that both the defender and striker Smith would sign new contracts at the club.
However, in an unexpected turn of events, just hours after Warne’s comments, the Owls announced the arrival of Ihiekwe and Smith, which both delighted the Wednesday faithful and caused anger among the Rotherham fan base in equal measure.
If Moore was looking for players with previous promotion experience, he certainly found it in Smith and Ihiekwe, with the duo boasting an impressive track record of League One success from their time at the New York Stadium.
