Sheffield Wednesday have had a number of players on the books over the years that have lit up Hillsborough and really gained the support of the fanbase.

In recent seasons it was the Carlos Carvalhal side that supporters could really get behind.

They delivered back-to-back play-off appearances in the Championship and even reached Wembley, only to be beaten 1-0 by Hull City.

Since then, it’s been a downward spiral for the Owls, who have become accustom to mid-table in the Championship.

There’s even been the threat of relegation into League One, which is very real threat for the Owls in 2020/21.

So, what of the players that have passed through Hillsborough that fans haven’t to taken to or haven’t had the desired impact in a Wednesday shirt?

We dive into nine players that haven’t hit the heights expected of them…

Lazaar came through the ranks with Palermo and was snapped up by Newcastle United, who brought him to England.

In total, the left-back only managed to make 10 appearances for the Magpies, instead spending plenty of time out on loan with other clubs.

Benevento was his first destination, but next on the list for Lazaar was Hillsborough, as he rocked up on loan in 2019.

It was only a short-term agreement, with Steve Bruce handing Lazaar only four appearances over the second-half of the season.

Since then, Lazaar has been out on loan with Cosenza and then released by Newcastle.

He’s now back in the Championship and on the books with Watford, who he has made only three substitute appearances for since the turn of the year. 

Bates arrived at Wednesday on loan in 2019/20 with plenty of expectation, after building a reasonable start to his career up in Scotland.

The centre-back had even played for Rangers between 2016 and 2018, which paved the way for him to move to Germany and sign for Hamburg.

He made 22 starts in the Bundesliga 2 in 2018/19, which was enough to convince Wednesday to take him on loan the following season.

Bates started just one League Cup fixture during his time at Wednesday in 2019/20, failing to establish himself in the side in any way.

Now, Bates is with Cercle Burges in the Belgian First Division. 

McManaman really burst onto the scene right at the start of his career, excelling for Wigan Athletic, providing a direct threat from the wing and having success at the DW Stadium.

Since then, though, McManaman’s career hasn’t hit those heights again, including the point when he signed on loan for the Owls.

As Carvalhal’s side chased the play-offs and promotion, McManaman came on board to boost their chance.

However, he started only twice in the Championship and made a further nine appearances from the bench. The winger did manage two assists in that time, but he was largely underwhelming.

That’s been the case for the 29-year-old in the EFL since then and now he’s playing for Melbourne Victory in Australia. 

Ahead of arriving at Hillsborough, Bus had a prolific spell with CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, scoring 10 goals in 10 league games.

That convinced Wednesday to sign Bus in 2015.

However, finding those levels in England proved to be difficult for the forward, who managed only once goal in nine league appearances.

That came in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town, when Bus looked to have wrapped up the points with a goal in the 86th minute. However, the Owls were pegged back by a very late equaliser.

Bus would then make three appearances for the Owls in 2015/16, taking him to a total of nine for the club.

The defensive midfielder was signed by Sheffield Wednesday around the time that Carlos Carvalhal arrived at the club, with a Portuguese influence taking over the Yorkshire club.

Carvalhal would be a success, as we know, whilst players like Lucas Joao and Marco Matias would have their moments in a Wednesday shirt.

The same, though, can’t be said for Melo, who made just six appearances for the Owls, resulting in around 400 minutes of football in the Championship.

There were injuries and things like that for the midfielder to contend with at Wednesday, but he didn’t hit the heights expected of him at Hillsborough and goes down as someone who, ultimately, flopped in the blue and white of Wednesday. 

There was plenty of excitement when Olsen rocked up at Wednesday.

As per the BBC in 2004, Gary Turner sanctioned the sale of Grant Holt to Rochdale to bring Olsen to the club.

On the ability of the forward, he commented: "He does give us an option in the penalty box which will cause problems.”

In the end, though, Olsen managed to make just 10 appearances in the Old Division 2, failing to find the back of the net and prove to be that option for Wednesday in the penalty area.

You could say that he more than justifies a place on this list given what Grant Holt went on to do elsewhere.

Almen Abdi had a heap of talent, there’s very little denying that and his lack of ability isn’t the reason why he’s on this list of Sheffield Wednesday transfer flops.

The former Udinese player had looked really good with Watford between 2012 and 2016, initially linking up with the Hornets on loan and then on a permanent basis.

A reported fee of £3m took Abdi to Sheffield in 2016, as Carvalhal looked to elevate his squad to get them over the line in the promotion race.

However, the transfer proved to be a bit of a flop in the end, with Abdi managing only 20 appearances in the Championship in a three-year spell.

Now 34, the midfielder is yet to find a new club since departing Hillsborough ahead of the summer of 2019.

Rhodes remains on the books at Wednesday and, to be fair to him, is having a good impact under Darren Moore at Hillsborough right now.

The issue is for some Wednesday fans that it has come far too late.

Rhodes was signed as the man to tip promotion in the club’s favour under Carvalhal, arriving from Middlesbrough for a club-record fee.

However, the striker never delivered and only now is starting to show the goal threat he can be.

It’s been an underwhelming spell at Hillsborough for Rhodes. He’s doing his best to right a few wrongs now, but it doesn’t prevent the initial transfer getting dubbed as a big flop. 

Butterfield had impressed for Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Derby County early on in his career, before making the move to Hillsborough on loan from the latter in 2017/18.

As it was, Butterfield failed to really show his best during his time with Wednesday and across a season, he made only 12 league starts, with a further eight appearances coming from the bench as the Owls struggled.

The 30-year-old’s career has continued on that decline too.

He moved to Bradford City and then Luton Town, and is now with Callum McManaman in Australia, where he features for Melbourne Victory in the Australian A-League.