Sheffield Wednesday are embarking on a new chapter in the club’s history on the back of relegation into the third tier at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

Darren Moore was the man to eventually oversee that relegation, but he’d done enough in a short period to convince enough fans he’s the right man to carry the club forwards.

And, a bullish decision was made with regard to the club’s retained list.

Heading into the summer it’s going to be a case of out with the old and in with the new, with the Wednesday old guard, or the majority of it, on the way out of Hillsborough.

Still, some of those players departing will go down in the Wednesday history books, as we underline here.

We list 10 of the best Englishmen to play for the club in the last 20 years:

Going back to an early stage of Madine’s career, he scored 28 goals for Sheffield Wednesday in 113 appearances.

In 2011/12, Madine scored 18 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions, with all those goals coming in League One.

That led them to promotion into the Championship, with Dave Jones’ side finishing second in the table.

There have been better English players to play for Wednesday over the years, there is no denying that whatsoever, but Madine’s impact that season was crucial for Wednesday and sees him take a place on this list. 

Hunt is on the lookout for a new club after his spell with Bristol City came to an end at the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign.

Wednesday fans could be forgiven for wanting him back too, given the impression he gave as a player at the club.

Hunt passed 100 appearances for the club and was around at that time when Wednesday were really thriving in the Championship and pushing for a place in the Premier League.

After leaving, Hunt has never got that close to the top-flight, which will be a regret.

He is still a top right-back, though, and deserves a place here.

Reach is a player that’s leaving Wednesday this summer, with the club’s relegation into League One coinciding with the end of his contract and a new challenge.

The midfielder arrived at Wednesday from Middlesbrough back in 2016 and is another Wednesday player to breeze past 200 appearances for the club.

In total, he’s scored 24 goals in 231 appearances for the club, including some memorable strikes against Leeds United and West Brom.

Ultimately, he’s not delivered what he wanted in terms of promotion and he leaves on the sour note of relegation, but there’s no denying he’s been a real influence on the side since his arrival from Boro.

We move onto a goalkeeper now that was really well respected in the English game and also played for Sheffield Wednesday for a decent stretch of his career.

Between 2012 and 2015, Kirkland made 91 appearances for the Owls, impressing between the sticks and proving to be a capable goalkeeper for the club.

Kirkland’s career took him to a host of different clubs along the way, not just Wednesday.

He featured for Liverpool, West Brom, Wigan Athletic, Leicester City and ended up with Preston North End after he’d played for the Owls.

Kirkland also has an England cap to his name.

Antonio is a player that’s currently plying his trade in the Premier League and he’s had a very good season with West Ham United.

The striker has scored 10 goals and registered five assists this season for the Hammers and it is easy to forget that he once played for Sheffield Wednesday.

Antonio was only with the club for a short period between 2012 and 2015, but he scored goals and really showed quality in that time at Hillsborough.

To many at the club, it is little surprise that Antonio is an established Premier League player now. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that he’s not had opportunities with England to establish himself there.

Lees arrived at Sheffield Wednesday from Leeds United, in desperate need of a new challenge after his career at Elland Road really soured despite a positive start.

The arrival of Lees coincided with Wednesday starting to challenge for the play-offs in the Championship, with the defender forming a strong understanding with Glenn Loovens.

It’s now been announced that Lees will be leaving Wednesday this summer, on the back of 274 appearances for the club.

Like at Leeds, his career has drifted at Hillsborough and now is the right time for a new challenge.

Still, he deserves this place after some really good moments.

What a player Hooper was. If it wasn’t for injuries, Hooper would have scored a really high number of goals for Wednesday.

In total, he struck 31 goals for the Owls during his time with the club, oozing quality as Wednesday chased the Premier League dream under Carlos Carvalhal.

Unfortunately for Hooper, injuries got the better of him and the latter stages of his Wednesday career never hit those heights again.

He’s since moved to the Australian A-League and the Englishman is playing for Wellington, who he already scoring goals regularly for.

A player that had so much quality and deserves a place in this list.

Hutchinson’s time with Wednesday looked like it had come to an end last season, but he made a remarkable return to the club in January and is already signed up for a return to League One.

His spell with Wednesday hasn’t been easy. He’s had injuries along the way and his discipline has been called into question on more than one occasion.

However, Hutchinson has made 176 appearances for Wednesday and when they’ve been doing well, he’s been a man that’s on the top of his game.

Hutchinson is formerly of Chelsea, which speaks volumes about his ability as a footballer.

Another deserved inclusion on this list of Wednesday players.

Lee was a product of the Manchester United academy and that speaks volumes about the level of player Wednesday had their hands on.

The midfielder arrived at Hillsborough in the summer of 2012 and went on to make 206 appearances for Wednesday before leaving the club earlier in 2021.

There’s no denying at all that Lee was a player with incredible ability and when he was on the top of his game, Wednesday were a joy to watch and difficult for Championship sides to handle.

Injuries impacted him, but in terms of pure ability, you can’t leave someone like Lee off this list.

Walker is a legend of English football, who made a name for himself with Nottingham Forest and ended his career at the City Ground too.

He was an England international and, between those spells with Forest, Walker played with Sampdoria and Sheffield Wednesday.

Arriving at Hillsborough in 1993, Walker went on to make 361 appearances for Wednesday, spilling into the early 2000s, which means he is eligible for this list.

Walker’s best football might well have come before this period in the last 20 years, but there’s little denying his quality and he is a player that deserves to be listed here.