Newcastle United ace breaks silence on Sheffield Wednesday transfer and ‘X-Factor’ initiation

Having spent the summer training away from the first-team, Jeff Hendrick secured a move to Sheffield Wednesday on deadline day. The Republic of Ireland international hadn’t featured for Newcastle United since December 2021 and has had spells on-loan at QPR and Reading since then.

Hillsborough and Championship new boys Sheffield Wednesday was chosen as his next destination and, as Hendrick has recently revealed in an interview with swfc.co.uk, it was an easy decision to make once interest from the Owls had become known. Hendrick said: “Talking to the manager and hearing about his philosophy and the way he wants to play was really exciting. He knows the game well and I felt it was something that I wanted to join.

“It was long and drawn out for me. Ideally it would have been nice to get it done a couple of days before or early that day so that I could have been in the squad for Leeds.

“Obviously that wasn’t to be but the lads went out and got a great point against Leeds. Now it’s time for me to get going with the lads, get training and put myself in contention for a place.”

Last week’s international break means Hendrick is still awaiting to make his debut for Sheffield Wednesday. That could come on Saturday when the Owls host fellow promoted side Ipswich Town.

As mentioned, Hendrick didn’t feature in a single match for the Magpies during pre-season, but the 31-year-old has admitted he is enjoying being back amongst first-team matters - even if that involved a spontaneous initiation performance.

Hendrick said: “It’s been grand, they’ve been very welcoming. The first thing I had to do was get in the circle and sing a song for them, so any pressure you have gets squashed there and then.

“It got threw on me. The manager took me right out into the circle and said ‘X Factor time!’ I could have crumbled on the spot but just had to sing something and entertain the lads for a bit.”

Vanilla Ice’s 1990 hit ‘Ice Ice Baby’ was the song chosen by Hendrick for his initiation - a decision that seemed to go down well with his new teammates.