Sheffield Wednesday may have thought they struck gold with...

In 2016, Sheffield Wednesday must have believed they had scored one of the season’s best deals when they were able

to sign Urby Emanuelson on a free transfer.

Emanuelson had a well-established reputation when he got to Hillsborough.

During the ten-year span from 2004 to 2014, he made over 350 games for two of the biggest and most prestigious

teams in Europe, Ajax and AC Milan, and he was awarded 16 caps for the Netherlands national team.

Following his departure from the San Siro, he played for Verona and Roma before being able to sign with Sheffield

Wednesday, then captained by Carlos Carvahal, in the summer of 2016.

By this point, Dejphon Chansiri had been the club’s owner for a year and a half, and significant expenditures had

been made on the team.

Urby Samuelson at Ajax and Milan (Transfermarkt)
Club	Appearances	Goals	Assists	Minutes Played
Ajax	255	22	29	20523
Milan	106	5	15	6438

Bringing in a player of Emanuelson’s calibre was a very clear signal of intent from a club that was pushing hard to get

back into the Premier League for the first time since the start of the 21st century.

Emanuelson becomes conspicuous by his absence from the Sheffield Wednesday team

First of all, Carvahal clarified that Emanuelson would not be joining the Wednesday squad at the beginning of the

new season since he would require time to regain his match readiness following his absence from preseason training.

At the time, Carvalhal told the Sheffield Star, “Urby is training and doing the work.”

However, weeks passed with no sign of Emanuelson.

There was talk of an ankle injury, but it was also the case that Danny Pudil was preferred in that position, despite

some degree of criticism about his performances at the start of the season. And furthermore, Wednesday were doing

okay in the League, looking good for a play-off place for a spot in the Premier League.

When Emanuelson finally made his appearance in a blue and white striped shirt, it was the final weekend of the

season, and Sheffield Wednesday had already secured a spot in the playoffs. Emanuelson entered the game with 16

minutes remaining in their final regular season home game against Fulham, and five minutes later, Nelson Kabano

gave the visitors the victory.

Despite finishing fourth in the Championship that season, Wednesday lost to Huddersfield Town on penalty kicks in

the play-off semifinals. Such heights have never been attained by them. The funds were running low, and after six

years, they were demoted to bottom of the standings by three points due to financial difficulties.

Urby Emanuelson quit the team that summer, much to everyone’s astonishment. After returning home, he played for

FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie for four seasons before ending his playing career in 2021. However, his status as one of

the worst acquisitions in the history of a team that has been familiar with them over the years has already cemented

his place in Sheffield Wednesday legend.