Harlee Dean reveals "greatest" Sheffield Wednesday moment - it involves Barry Bannan and Darren Moore | OneFootball

The centre-back looked to make an immediate impression during his loan spell at Hillsborough

Harlee Dean has recently revealed the bizarre start to life he enjoyed during a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign under Darren Moore.

The Owls found themselves in League One for the first time in a decade under the management of the former West Bromwich Albion boss, having suffered relegation on the final day of the previous Championship season after being hit with a 12-point deduction.

Dean was one of several players acquired during Moore's first full season at Hillsborough, with the Owls aiming for an immediate return to the second-tier whilst battling it out against the likes of Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic - all of whom had also fallen from the Premier League to the third-tier over the course of recent history.

He'd also endured a mixed period at his parent club, Birmingham City, in the previous four-and-a-half years after becoming one of Harry Redknapp's most high-profile and last signings during what is now an infamous transfer window at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

After falling down the pecking order by the time January 2022 came around, he then looked to rejuvenate his personal career with a brief spell in the Steel City, as well as making an immediate impression on the likes of Moore and modern-day Owls icon, Barry Bannan.

The ex-Southampton and Brentford man went on to make just nine appearances for the Owls during his temporary switch from the West Midlands outfit amid injury and fitness issues, with his final two outings coming against the Black Cats in what proved to be an agonising play-off semi-final defeat over two legs, courtesy of Patrick Roberts' last-gasp winner at Hillsborough.

However, with the summer transfer window for the current season now shut, Dean - appearing as a guest on Birmingham's new 'Blue Rising' discussion and feature show via YouTube - spoke about the 'initiation' process a new signing has to go through at any club, with his "greatest" version coming after his loan move to Wednesday.

"My greatest initiation was when I went on loan from here (Blues) to Sheffield Wednesday," he claimed.

"Darren Moore was the manager. We were having food. I'd planned it, and Barry Bannan said to me, 'you've got to sing'.

"I was pretending I was really nervous and that I don't like it whatsoever, and I said, 'I've got to go to the toilet, I feel sick'," Dean added.

"I had a bag on me, and in it I had one of my partner's dresses, a size-eleven pair of stilletos, fishnet stockings and a wig. I came on to Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman!'

"All I ever remember from it is big Darren Moore sitting at the back going like this (rubbing his hands together), and I'm thinking 'oh no!'," Dean explained.

Ironically, the Owls haven't had much to sing about themselves on a positive note since Dean's loan spell came to an end three seasons ago.

Moore was able to eventually guide the Yorkshire side to promotion via the play-offs the following season courtesy of a dramatic extra-time success over Barnsley at Wembley Stadium, before departing the club just weeks later to the shock of many supporters and outsiders.

Wednesday have been able to preserve their Championship status since, but there is an even greater cloud of uncertainty hanging over Hillsborough right now, with fans continuing to showcase their anger towards controversial owner, Dejphon Chansiri, due to his day-to-day running of the club that has resulted in EFL punishments and interventions due to several instances of delayed wage payments.

Meanwhile, Dean returned to St. Andrew's for one final season under John Eustace in 2022/23, leaving the club just prior to the well-documented takeover by Tom Wagner and Knighthead Capital Management.

Blues are now a completely different club to the one which the centre-back played for 200 times and captained on several occasions, with the club set to move into a new 62,000-seater stadium in the years to come, meaning Dean's two former clubs could be streets apart from each other if their contrasting trajectories continue.