Sheffield Wednesday won't want to repeat £700k transfer anytime soon | OneFootball

Francis Jeffers merely scored five goals in two years for Sheffield Wednesday

Francis Jeffers joined the Owls back in 2007 for £700k, which has gone down as one of the most disappointing transfers in Sheffield Wednesday's history.

After a flourishing early career in the top flight of English football for the likes of Arsenal and Everton, Jeffers was destined to be a household name with Arsène Wenger paying £8 million for the striker in 2001. He went on to score 20 goals in 60 games for the Gunners, who were challenging for the Premier League at the time and earn an England cap in 2003.

A downward spiral for Jeffers post-Arsenal

The next three seasons, post-reaching the peak of his career with Arsenal, led Jeffers to become somewhat of a journeyman looking to rediscover his form with the likes of Charlton Athletic, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers, and Ipswich Town, but he could never find a rhythm in front of goal.

Being constantly sidelined due to injury didn't help Jeffers' cause throughout his career, with ankle injuries being the common theme. However, despite his short tenure at Ipswich and more injury setbacks, this time to his hamstring, he did seek to impress by finding the net four times in nine appearances.

Sheffield Wednesday take a punt on injury-prone Jeffers

Jeffers' time at Sheffield Wednesday promised much but delivered little.

After spending a staggering £700k on the striker, the Owls fans could be excited about Jeffers' opportunity to rediscover his early glory days at Hillsborough.

It didn't take long for the forward to be sidelined once again after an injury in his first month. But on his return, he popped up with vital moments over the course of his first season for the Owls in 2007/08, and was the game winner on two occasions.

The first was a 25-yard strike against Hull in a narrow 1-0 win at home, before scoring late on from the spot in Wednesday's narrow 2-1 victory over Preston North End.

Jeffers' second season at Wednesday followed in the same vein as the first. Despite regular minutes to showcase why the club paid £700k, finding the back of the net was always a struggle, which led to him scoring five goals in 60 appearances over the course of two years for the Owls.

With only three goals in his second season, as well as an on-the-field altercation with Port Vale's Tommy Fraser, meant that Jeffers was put on the transfer list by Brian Law.

Overall, a frustrating transfer for all involved at Sheffield Wednesday, with fans being left unhappy at watching the slow decline of a talented youngster not able to regain his goalscoring form from earlier years.

Life after Sheffield Wednesday

After a difficult time in England, Jeffers moved to the Australian A-League where he had spells at Newcastle Jets on a couple of occasions that couldn't materialise into a revival of his career.

With one last push in 2013 with Accrington Stanley, Jeffers hung up the boots and opted for a managerial career where he became assistant manager at Ipswich and Oldham Athletic before joining Macclesfield in the same job role.

In truth, it's quite sad looking back on such a journey given how highly-rated Jeffers was around the time he was on the books at Arsenal and Everton. Circumstances led him across the EFL pyramid in search of the spark he had earlier in his career. Wednesday was one of many stop-offs and Hillsborough was a place that, ultimately, never saw that £8m talent Arsenal once did.