'Highly thought of' - The Sheffield Wednesday verdict on Blackpool's newest recruit

Blackpool’s newest addition Michael Ihiekwe is set to have a big impact both on and off the pitch at Bloomfield Road.

The defender will officially join the Seasiders at the beginning of next month following the conclusion of his contract with Sheffield Wednesday, after penning a three-year deal with the club last week.

Huddersfield Town and Port Vale were also linked with the 32-year-old, but it’s Blackpool who have come out on top in the battle to sign the four-time League One promotion winner.

Three of his successes in the third tier came during a five-year stay with Rotherham United, while the most-recent came with Sheffield Wednesday via the play-offs in 2023.

The Sheffield Wednesday verdict

During his time at Hillsborough, Ihiekwe made 82 appearances for the Owls in total, and after initially being out of favour in the first half of last season, he fought his way back to be a key performer for Danny Röhl’s in his last few months in South Yorkshire.

Sheffield Star reporter Alex Miller states the centre back will add a number of key qualities to Steve Bruce’s side once he links up with his new teammates.

“He’s got big experience, you can see his assurance and calmness out on the pitch, which is something that really carries off the pitch as well,” he said.

“I know he was highly thought of in the changing room. He’s a real battler, and that’s not meant with any disrespect whatsoever.

“He went into the January window having been told that he could find another club, and ended up as the player of the second half of the season. That stands to his professional and his mindset. If you spoke to anyone at Rotherham United then you’d hear very similar things.

“He’s been a big part of the changing room, a big voice in there, and I think he’ll carry that across. The fact that Wednesday have battled back from impossible situations to achieve something, you look to the big personalities and say that’s their blueprint.”

The right time to part ways with Sheffield Wednesday

While Sheffield Wednesday opted not to offer Ihiekwe a new deal, there can still be some debate on whether it was the right call to let him depart.

“It felt like the time to move on, but with everything that’s happened at Wednesday since, you wonder if they might’ve kept hold of everyone, because it’s going to be difficult for them to do business this summer,” Miller admitted.

“Danny Rohl has a certain style of play. This is what was interesting about Michael Ihiekwe in the second half of the season - it’d be incredibly lazy to pigeon hole him as an old school EFL defender, because he proved that wasn’t the case.

“He was able to adapt to a system where centre halves need to play a bit. He was picking out some lovely progressive passes and being more daring on the ball.

“However Steve (Bruce) looks to use him, he’ll have a fair crack at it and give it everything. I saw a joke on Twitter the other night, saying from Bloomfield Road he could head a beach ball back to the sea.

“He’s got all the attributes of an old school meat and potatoes centre half, but we’ve seen him do the other stuff really well.

“Knowing the trust Steve Bruce puts in more experienced players, I think he’s signed himself a real leader - someone that will take his message onto the pitch. A three year contract at the age he’s at is a real show of faith, and I’m sure he’ll repay that.”

Your next story from the Gazette: Ex-Blackpool man hails fan impact as he shares surprise from Bloomfield Road spell.