Sheffield Wednesday beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 in the Championship on Tuesday night, securing a fourth-straight league win in the process.
The Owls’ extraordinary run of play has left them just a few points behind Plymouth in 16th place, putting them in the drop zone solely on goal differential.
Only six points separate Watford, in 12th place, and Sheffield Wednesday, who suddenly have a group of players who are truly clicking and excelling as individuals.
The two players that everyone is talking about right now are Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo. Poveda in particular looked threatening on Tuesday night and was unfortunate to have what would have been his maiden goal for the club disallowed.
Pol Valentin beginning to really shine at Sheffield Wednesday
In the first half, Poveda found himself through on goal when Leeds United loanee Pol Valentin, a right wing-back, flashed a neat pass across the 18-yard line for him to finish.
Last night, Valentin was unstoppable; he made tackles, blocked passes, made excellent passes of his own, and moved forward and backward at every chance.
However, last night The Star rated him a somewhat middling 6/10, with Joe Crann adding:
“A ball of energy once again—absolutely tireless. Had it not been for the linesman’s flag, he may have had an assist and now appears to be a very reliable performer at this level. Palmer was absent several times and was discarded.
Valentin, 27, won 4 out of 11 duels and completed 20 out of 28 passes (71% completion rate) according to Sofascore. He also recorded 1 crucial pass.
Still room for improvement, but Valentin is becoming a key player
As indicated by Crann’s evaluation of Valentin’s performance against Plymouth and his statistics, the Spaniard still has a lot of potential to grow.
However, it’s astounding to see how much better he’s performed now than at the beginning of the season.
Even though Valentin is now repaying Rohl’s immense faith in him, it appeared as though he was having trouble adjusting to the Championship and the team under Xisco Munoz.
After Dominic Iorfa sustained an injury, he took a chance, and Valentin now looks certain to start at right wing-back.
Marvin Johnson is a real creative force for Sheffield Wednesday on the left, and they’re gradually adding another on the right in Valentin, who is showing off his physical qualities in games. With some improvement on his passing and all-around play when the ball is in play, Valentin has the potential to be a very good Championship player.
With just 12 games remaining, he suddenly appears destined to be a major player in Sheffield Wednesday’s last push.
Leeds United is next on Friday night.
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