Sheffield Wednesday: Stuart Gray and Chelsea provided Owls with legacy player | OneFootball

Midfielder Sam Hutchinson enjoyed a successful eight-year spell at Sheffield Wednesday after joining from Chelsea in 2014.

Sheffield Wednesday have made a number of high-profile transfer mistakes over the years, but the signing of midfielder Sam Hutchinson was certainly not one of them.

While Wednesday became known for big spending after Dejphon Chansiri's takeover in January 2015, finances were much tighter under his predecessor Milan Mandaric, meaning that manager Stuart Gray had to work on a limited budget.

Despite being restricted to mainly free transfers and loans, Gray did an excellent job during his 18-month spell in charge at Hillsborough, and some of his signings went on to become a key part of the team that almost won promotion to the Premier League under Carlos Carvalhal.

After retiring earlier in his Chelsea career due to a knee injury before reversing the decision, Hutchinson had loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Vitesse Arnhem as he looked to force his way back into contention at Stamford Bridge.

When Hutchinson joined Wednesday on loan in February 2014, many had assumed that he would simply be a short-term signing to help the club stay in the Championship, but he turned out to be so much more than that.

Sam Hutchinson became a firm fan favourite at Sheffield Wednesday

After being released by Chelsea after returning from his loan spell at Wednesday, Hutchinson made a permanent move to Hillsborough on a free transfer in the summer of 2014.

Hutchinson became known for his all-action performances, and such was his tough-tacking style, supporters would often guess which minute of the game he would receive a yellow card, but it was that kind of commitment that saw him earn the affection of the Owls fan base.

After Carvalhal found a way to manage his injury problems, he became a mainstay in the team that achieved two consecutive play-off finishes in the Championship under the Portuguese tactician in 2016 and 2017.

Hutchinson's time in South Yorkshire was not without controversy, and he was mysteriously frozen out by Jos Luhukay in the 2018-19 season, but the manager's refusal to explain the reasons behind the 35-year-old's absence did him no favours with disgruntled supporters.

Given Hutchinson's popularity, it was always going to be a battle that Luhukay would lose, and unsurprisingly, the midfielder immediately came back into the fold after the Dutchman's exit.

Hutchinson went on to rediscover his form under Steve Bruce, playing a crucial role as the Owls surged up the table under the former Newcastle United boss, but he once again found himself out of favour after Garry Monk's arrival.

As Monk was still in charge when Hutchinson's contract expired in the summer of 2020, he was released by Wednesday, and he went on to join Pafos in Cyprus, but just six months later, he was brought back to the club by caretaker manager Neil Thompson after Monk's sacking.

Hutchinson's second spell with the Owls was much less successful than his first, and as he moved towards the latter stages of his career, he featured more regularly at centre-back than in midfield in League One under Darren Moore, but his positional switch did not lessen his dedication to the cause.

After an eight-year association with the club, Hutchinson departed Hillsborough for the final time in the summer of 2022, and while there was a consensus that it was the right moment for him to move on, his contribution will forever be appreciated by Wednesday supporters.

If Hutchinson's time at the club was not enough for him to form a lasting bond with Wednesday supporters, his recent comments after joining League Two side AFC Wimbledon have certainly cemented his legacy.

After a few months without a club following his departure from Reading, Hutchinson made the move to Plough Lane on a free transfer in early December, and in his first interview as a Dons player, he stated that joining the Owls was his best career decision.

"I got sent out to Wednesday (on loan from Chelsea), and it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done… I loved Wednesday, and I would say that as much as Chelsea is my club, Wednesday is like my club," Hutchinson told the club's YouTube channel.

"I spent eight years there, my two boys were born in Sheffield, and we were very much part of the community. Everyone at the club was really good to me, like really good to me. And the fanbase was brilliant, they knew what they got with me, and I started playing midfield when I was 24 - just started running around kicking people.

"I moved to Pafos because I fell out with Garry Monk, and I had America but there was trouble there at the time and my wife didn’t want to move with the kids, so I moved to Pafos by myself… It just wasn’t right, and then obviously Garry Monk got the sack and I went straight back to Wednesday!"