Sheffield Wednesday have allowed centre-forward Chris O'Grady to leave the club and as expected the former Rochdale man has signed for South Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley.
O'Grady spent 2 seasons with the Owls and helped them win promotion from League One in his first season. He was never a regular fixture in the side but perhaps his most telling contribution in an Owls shirt came in February 2012 when he scored the only goal in the Sheffield derby at Hillsborough – a result which contributed to Wednesday pipping their steel city rivals to a top two place come the end of the season.
The striker was far from prolific during his time at S6, scoring only 9 league goals in 39 starts and 14 substitute appearances though his ratio is a little better when 4 goals in 5 cup appearances are taken into account.
Strangely, his performances appeared to improve when making the step up to Championship level last season. Up until Christmas he was outscoring Wednesday's other strikers and making more of an all round contribution which is why his New Year loan move to Barnsley – at the time a Championship relegation rival – seemed a strange decision by the Owls. Thankfully the move worked out well for all concerned as O'Grady's performances helped Barnsley to narrowly avoid the drop while Wednesday brought in experienced front men Leroy Lita and Steve Howard as they finished with a respectable 58 points in their first season back in the Championship.
Curiously O'Grady's last goal for Wednesday came in a crucial 1-0 win at Barnsley in December 2012, bringing a 7 match losing streak to an end.
Owls Chairman Milan Mandaric has intimated he expects to see Dave Jones bring in around 4 or 5 new players at Hillsborough this summer with a proven goal scorer featuring particularly high on the wish list.