Sheffield Wednesday has completed the signing of young Manchester City midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. The 19-year-old joins the Owls for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal.
Sheffield Wednesday Sign Fisayo Dele-Bashiru
“Honoured”
The German-born midfielder spoke to the official club website upon his arrival.
“I’m honoured to sign for Sheffield Wednesday and I’m excited to be here,” he said. “I’m at an age now where I want to be playing first-team football and I am confident it will fall into place for me here.
“I know there are other players in the same position but competition for places is a positive.
“My game is about power, strength and pace, I like to go box to box and I like taking on a shot too. The manager has shown a desire to bring me to the club and that means a lot. He has a good CV and I’m sure this is the right platform for me at this stage of my career.”
A Good Move for All Three Parties
This is a move that suits both clubs, and the player, extremely well. City boast a midfield with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho and Dele-Bashiru’s former youth team-mate Phil Foden, so it’s hard to see how he would have had a chance of breaking into their side. The youngster is at an age where he needs to experience some first-team football, so dropping down into the EFL is a sensible decision.
The Owls need more options in central midfield. Currently, their only senior players under contract in that position for next season are Barry Bannan, Massimo Luongo and Joey Pelupessy. Academy products Alex Hunt and Liam Shaw have recently broken into the side, but it remains to be seen whether they will be able to perform consistently.
Of course, you could say the same about Dele-Bashiru. He’s young and unproven, but as a Manchester City academy graduate, he shouldn’t be short on technical ability. With his natural power and ball-carrying ability, Wednesday could have an exciting talent on their hands. Dele-Bashiru certainly represents a shift in their recruitment policy.
All too often in previous years, the Owls have spent big fees and paid out high wages to ‘proven’ Championship players, who haven’t always repaid that with performances on the pitch. This is a low-risk, low-fee signing, who will have the time to develop in a first-team environment. And who knows, maybe he will command a bigger fee one day.
Wednesday still have that EFL charge hanging over their heads, and they could still be relegated. But if the Owls are playing in the third tier next season, that would likely mean more first-team opportunities for their new man.
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