Dave Jones was delighted with Sheffield Wednesday signing - he recruited real Owls cult hero | OneFootball

Atdhe Nuhiu and his enduring impact at Sheffield Wednesday

When Atdhe Nuhiu arrived at Hillsborough in the summer of 2013, Dave Jones was unequivocal in his praise.

“The kid is a real talent with loads of ability,” the then-Sheffield Wednesday manager told BBC Radio Sheffield: “He gives us something totally different to what we’ve got… He links play well, he’s good in the air, and we’re absolutely delighted.”

For a while, though, that excitement seemed misplaced. Nuhiu was a slow burner, struggling to find his feet in a league as chaotic and physical as the Championship.

Over the next seven years, however, Nuhiu would become one of the most divisive yet oddly indispensable figures of Wednesday’s modern era - a player whose limitations were clear but whose influence, particularly in big moments, was hard to deny.

The cult forward who thrived in chaos at Sheffield Wednesday

At 6'6", he was never going to be subtle. Gangly and disruptive, with a style some found more infuriating than effective, Nuhiu was never universally loved. End product, at first, was elusive.

Eight goals in his first 42 appearances under Dave Jones didn’t suggest a player destined for cult status. Yet something shifted. Fans grew to understand Nuhiu for what he was, not what he wasn’t. He was a big man for big moments, a last-minute lifeline, a substitute summoned to deliver chaos - and he frequently did.

The numbers are modest at face value: 277 appearances, 50 goals. But it’s the manner and context of those goals that fuel his legacy.

He became Wednesday’s go-to man for disruption - particularly off the bench - during the turbulent early years of Dejphon Chansiri’s Owls stewardship.

In 2017-18, amidst managerial turbulence that saw Carvalhal depart on Christmas Eve for Jos Luhukay, Nuhiu enjoyed his most productive campaign, scoring 11 times in 35 appearances.

He was rarely first choice, but frequently the answer when Wednesday needed a late goal, a bit of chaos, or simply something different. He was unpredictable, ungainly, often frustrating - but occasionally unplayable. His seven goals in 2019–20, his final season at the club, all followed a familiar pattern: late, headed, euphorically celebrated.

Atdhe Nuhiu’s enduring mark on Sheffield Wednesday

His farewell came in understated fashion - two goals in a chaotic 5-3 defeat to Fulham. With his contract expiring, it marked the end of a strange but storied chapter.

No Wednesday player scored more goals than Nuhiu across his time at the club, a statistic that speaks to both his endurance and the team’s attacking struggles.

There were standout moments. A perfect hat-trick against Norwich City in May 2018, including a towering header, a poacher’s finish from a rebound and a composed penalty, was arguably his most complete performance.

It capped off a late-season resurgence under Luhukay and reminded fans of what he could offer when given the right platform.

But perhaps his most iconic contribution came away at Elland Road. In swirling snow, he scored twice - including a stoppage-time winner - to hand the Owls their first win at Leeds since 2007. It was classic Nuhiu: part chaos, part instinct, part sheer will.

In a rare moment of pointed self-reflection, Nuhiu defended his contributions on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Football Heaven after Carvalhal’s appointment. “Sometimes the criticism is true, sometimes it is not,” he said. “They brought in strikers on emergency loans and nobody did better than me or Stevie May last season… That’s a thing, this criticism I don’t accept.”

It was a fair point. Over his years at the club, Nuhiu outlasted several managers and countless strikers. He was never the star but always part of the picture; a player who understood the assignment, even if not everyone understood him.

He might never have been universally loved, but that's perhaps part of the charm. Cult heroes rarely are. What defines them isn’t perfection, but presence - an ability to leave a mark, to make you feel something. And on that front, few modern Owls