Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for a fresh start under new manager Tony Pulis, as the Welshman's tenure of the club gets underway this weekend.

Pulis will be hoping to steer the Owls well away from the relegation zone and start guiding them up the league table, starting with a win at Deepdale against Preston this weekend.

It won't be an easy task to get Wednesday firing and climbing up the league table, but Pulis is a manager who knows the Championship well and knows what it takes to be successful.

Quiz: Did these 17 Sheffield Wednesday players ever actually score a league goal for the club?

 

It has been a disappointing few years for Wednesday, with the Owls failing to ignite a promotion push since the days of Carlos Carvalhal.

In recent years, Wednesday have recruited poorly, and have spent big on players who failed to make any sort of impact at Hillsborough.

Here, we take a look at three times Wednesday got ripped off in the transfer market...

Jordan Rhodes - 2017 

 

Wednesday signed Jordan Rhodes for a club-record fee of around £10million in 2017, after initially moving to Hillsborough on loan from Middlesbrough.

Rhodes had found it tough at Boro, but he previously scored so many goals for Blackburn and Huddersfield, so his record in front of goal excited many.

The 30-year-old has flattered to deceive for the Owls, though. He has scored 14 goals in 81 appearances for the club, and has found the net only once this season.

£10million is a lot of money for any player in the Championship, but it looks like a bit of a waste at the moment.

Almen Abdi - 2016

Abdi was a tremendous player for Watford during his time at Vicarage Road, before making the move to Hillsborough in 2016 for £3million.

The Swiss midfielder was unable to make any sort of impact at Wednesday, though, making only 16 appearances in 2016/17, and featuring only seven times in 2017/18.

After failing to make a single appearance in 2018/19, he was released at the end of the season and hasn't found a new club since.

Joost van Aken - 2017

Wednesday brought in promising defender Joost van Aken from Heerenveen in 2017, with the Dutchman arriving for a fee of around £2.7million.

The 26-year-old has since made only 23 league starts for the Owls, and spent last season on loan in Germany with Osnabruck.

This season, van Aken has made eight Championship starts for Wednesday, but was sent off in the defeat to Luton and subsequently missed the next three games.

He hasn't lived up to his potential and has been a bit of a flop thus far.