Marc Degryse spent a season with at Sheffield Wednesday during the mid-1990s.
Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Marc Degryse has likened Fernando Forestieri to Lionel Messi and said he sees a bit of Atletico Madrid in the current Owls side, during an interview with Bwin this week.
Degryse spent a season at Hillsborough in the mid-1990s and scored 12 goals in 38 appearances before he was lured away by Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
Despite only a fleeting spell in Sheffield, which came to an end 20 years ago this summer, Degryse has kept an eye on Wednesday’s progress and believes the Owls are “really close” to a top-flight return – with Forestieri, who hails from the same Argentine city as Barcelona star Messi, leading the charge.
“If you look at a lot of the top players in the world, Messi, (Alexis) Sanchez, (Riyad) Mahrez, they’re not tall, they have quick feet and they can spin and turn defenders and that is what Forestieri offers Wednesday,” the former Belgium international told Bwin.
“It’s not all about being big, tall and strong as these nimble players are very technical and great crowd-pleasers. He is performing well so far this season and will give the club the push it needs for promotion.”
And Degryse said he’s been impressed by the work of Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal, who’s masterminded the club’s ascent from mid-table over-achievers to promotion contenders in nine months.
He added: “Carlos has done a great job during his first stint in English football – he is getting the players playing as a team and implementing a good style of football.
“You often see nowadays with managers such as (Diego) Simeone at Atletico Madrid that players are thinking and playing as a team and you can see similar trait in Wednesday’s team.
“When you have a manager who is able to get the most out of his players, they can then make the difference and I think this is happening at Sheffield Wednesday.”
Atletico knocked reigning champions Barcelona out of the Champions League on Wednesday, courtesy of a hard-fought 2-0 win in Madrid.
The Spanish side shared the same shirt sponsor as the Owls last season.
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