Sheffield Wednesday paid Watford a reported £4 million for Abdi in July.
“I expected a little better,” said Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal of his £10 million summer recruits last month.
Since then only one (of nine) has started a Championship fixture, from which the Owls have taken an impressive seven points.
However, the absence of Fernando Forestieri – suspended for violent conduct – presents Almen Abdi in particular with a chance to shake off his critics.
The Swiss midfielder was Wednesday’s second most costly arrival – after Adam Reach, the one ever-present newbie in recent weeks – and has without question been the most disappointing.
I have openly questioned his signing on this very website, albeit not because of his ability – six caps for his county, one Championship promotion and 23 goals across the previous three campaigns – but rather the decision to recruit another technical midfielder when the squad contains no like-for-like replacement for Sam Hutchinson – a key player although prone to both injury and suspension and who has often been forced to fill in at centre-back.
That said, times like these are precisely why he was signed, and having scored – and by all accounts played well – in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Notts County on Tuesday (although Atdhe Nuhiu’s hat-trick does raise some questions about the standard of opposition) Abdi will surely make an appearance over the next eight days, especially if Kieran Lee fails to recover from a knock.
With Forestieri out of the picture, Abdi is the one Wednesday player who can perhaps most take advantage of that space between midfield and attack, and should thrive behind a striker like Lucas Joao, whose willingness to stretch defences will only declutter that particular zone.
A lack of fitness has certainly hindered the 30-year-old’s progress, but after a month away from the first team picture he should be approaching full health by now.
And the Almen Abdi that Watford fans spoke so fondly about could finally manifest at Hillsborough.
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