Why Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United will always scratch their eyes at Rangers | OneFootball

British football's highest scoring defender spent time at the Owls and the Magpies earlier on in his career

Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United will always scratch their eyes at Rangers in regard to British football's highest scoring defender.

Said record holder is right-back James Tavernier, who the Magpies took from Leeds United's academy all the way back in 2008.

To try and speed up his development, Newcastle sent him on multiple loans that would eventually total six spells away from Tyneside - at Gateshead, Carlisle United, Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Shrewsbury Town and Rotherham United.

Even though some of these loans weren't for a full season, he only managed 30-plus appearances for the last club on the above list, Rotherham, which is perhaps why the Premier League side decided to move Tavernier on permanently.

Given how the 34-year-old's career has panned out since leaving England, it’s surely impossible not to wonder what Newcastle and Wednesday in particular make of it all.

James Tavernier described Sheffield Wednesday as a 'huge club' when on loan from Newcastle United

Tavernier’s time at Hillsborough was short, as he joined Sheffield Wednesday on a two‑month emergency loan in November 2011 - the season where the Owls finished 2nd in League One with 93 points.

The then-20-year-old said, "When Sheffield Wednesday showed an interest, I wanted to come here straight away. It's a huge club with a big fanbase. I know Wednesday are doing really well in the league so it was a really easy choice to come here."

On his style of play, Tavernier added, "I like to get forward, run at full-backs and get involved in the attacking play, so you will see me getting up and down the pitch a lot during games."

Given the fact that he's now scored over 140 goals for Rangers, the 'like to get forward' line reads almost prophetically, yet the short-term nature of the deal meant he didn't really have a proper chance to show that in South Yorkshire.

By the time he went back to Newcastle, Tavernier had made eight appearances in all competitions for Wednesday, failing to contribute to any goals.

Rangers still see what Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United couldn't with James Tavernier

The real turning point in Tavernier’s career came in 2015, when Rangers - then rebuilding in the Scottish second tier - moved to sign him from Wigan Athletic in a double deal alongside striker Martyn Waghorn.

During his debut season in Glasgow, Tavernier scored 15 goals and registered 18 assists as the Scottish giants won promotion back to the Premiership. It was also when he began showcasing a set‑piece delivery and penalty-taking calm that would become defining features of his game.

By March 2024, Tavernier had, as previously mentioned, become British football’s highest-scoring defender, his 131st career goal taking him past Graham Alexander and Steve Bruce.

In fairness to Wednesday, the nature of emergency loans means long‑term planning is rarely on the table - Tavernier arrived to solve an immediate issue at right-back, helped them through that spell and then moved on as pre‑agreed.

Still, there has to be some form of regret when a former loanee blossoms into a star elsewhere, particularly when his own words from that time make it clear how much he was drawn to the club and its fanbase.

It must be a little more confusing for Newcastle, though. They even rewarded his initial progress with a new three‑year contract in 2012, when he was described as "highly rated."

He made a handful of cup appearances and some European outings under Alan Pardew, but the presence of other right-backs in Danny Simpson and Mathieu Debuchy ultimately made it very hard for Tavernier to stick around.