Barnsley FC hit transfer jackpot with maverick winger - Not once, but twice | OneFootball

Adam Hammill had two stints at Barnsley throughout his career, and both were incredibly productive

It's an age-old saying that you should never return to a club you had fond memories of, as, a lot of the time, second stints don't live up to the expectations laid out by the first.

For Barnsley and Adam Hammill, however, that doesn't ring true, as the dynamic winger's best years of his career arguably came at Oakwell between 2009 and 2011, and again between 2015 and 2018.

The Tykes had completely different goals in both spells. Whereas before, the South Yorkshire side were battling to stay afloat in the Championship, Hammill's second spell at the club saw him return to a side looking to earn promotion out of League One.

In both cases, Hammill was a tricky customer for any full-back to deal with, and the winger's reputation was certainly enhanced throughout both spells.

Adam Hammill's breakthrough EFL years at Barnsley

Growing up in Liverpool, Hammill came through the academy at Anfield, but was unable to make a senior appearance for the club.

Uneventful loan spells at Dunfermline Athletic in Scotland and Southampton and Blackpool in the Championship didn't do much to improve his standing when he returned to Liverpool, and in January 2009, the freshly turned 21-year-old found himself loaned out for the fourth time, this time to Barnsley.

The spell started about as uneventfully as the previous three. Hammill was in and out of the squad until the Easter Weekend, when the Tykes travelled to Watford on the Saturday.

The wideman came on to assist Jon Macken's opener, and even though Barnsley were pegged back late on, that didn't take away from what was a great performance from the 21-year-old, and it put him in line for more regular starts for the rest of the campaign.

Five straight games from the off culminated in a goal on the final day in a win against Plymouth Argyle. That goal left Barnsley wanting more, and so they came in with a six-figure bid for him in the following summer.

The following two years were the Tykes' best in terms of league finish in their eight-year stint in the second tier between 2006 and 2014, and Hammill was a leading part of that. In his first full campaign at Oakwell, he scored four and assisted four as Barnsley finished comfortably in 18th, closer to the top half than the bottom three.

Then, he exploded in the 2010/11 season, scoring eight and assisting six in just 25 games in the opening half of the campaign, helping Barnsley push for a place in the top half.

Due to this incredible form, however, teams in the Premier League were sniffing around for his services come January, and with a reported £500,000 release clause in his contract, it wouldn't be long until someone took a punt, and Wolves ended up being that side.

Barnsley continued their solid start and placed 17th at the end of the campaign, their highest finish since 2000/01, and it wouldn't be until 2016/17 that the Tykes finished any higher.

Adam Hammill's return and role in helping Barnsley return to the Championship

Unfortunately, Hammill never really got a chance in the Premier League with Wolves, playing just 19 top-flight games in the season and a half he spent at Molineux before their relegation in 2012.

Even then, he wasn't able to get into the first team and was sent out on loan to Huddersfield Town, where he was eventually sold in 2013.

In the meantime, Barnsley's eight-year stay in the Championship ended in 2014 following back-to-back 21st-place finishes. Their first season back in League One in nine years was disappointing, as the Tykes finished in 11th.

That same season saw Hammill fall out of favour at Huddersfield, and after another loan spell, this time at Rotherham United, he was released from his contract in September 2015 and found his way back to Barnsley.

Despite a terrible start to the campaign, which saw them 21st at Christmas, Barnsley enjoyed an exceptional 2016, with a number of winning runs in the second half of the campaign, shooting them into the top six by the end of the season.

Alongside that, the Tykes had success in the EFL Trophy, too, beating Oxford United at Wembley to win the competition. Throughout that competition, Hammill scored three and assisted three, including one of each in the 3-2 final win against the Yellows.

That wouldn't be the only time that the returning wideman would light up under the Wembley arch that season, however, as his goal and assist in a 6-1 aggregate victory over Walsall led Paul Heckingbottom's side to the play-off final to take on Millwall.

Hammill pulled through with a man-of-the-match display, scoring the second in the 3-1 victory over the Lions, ensuring that Barnsley returned to the Championship at the second time of asking.

Hammill would play a further couple of years at Oakwell, scoring and assisting three to help Barnsley remain in the second tier with ease in their first year back. Unfortunately, he was ineffective in his final year at the club, as the Tykes succumbed to relegation once more.

It may not have ended how he, or Barnsley fans, would've liked, but that relegation didn't put a dampener on his time at the club.

Making just shy of 200 appearances for the Tykes, Hammill's time at Oakwell spans longer than his stints at any other club. Evidently, he played his best football in South Yorkshire, and Barnsley fans still fondly remember him for doing so today.