‘That’s a Premier League club…’ – Cult Sheffield Wednesday star hopes for continued Owls rise

The Italian became a cult hero during his time at Hillsborough, scoring a number of fantastic goals during their top-flight days before eventually leaving under a bit of a cloud in 1999.

But he has often spoken about his love for the Owls, and received a warm reception recently when he returned to the club both as a guest and for a charity game at Hillsborough, and he was also at Wembley to witness their promotion out of League One late last month.

Now, with a few new additions, he’s keen to see them take the next step in the not-so-distant future.

"I was so happy for everybody,” Carbone told Ladbrokes Fanzone after the Owls rejoined the Championship.. “It was incredible to see all the fans enjoying that win - I’m really happy for them, I’m really happy for the club, I’m really happy for the city. They’re back in the Championship, but they deserve to be in the Premier League. This shouldn’t be about stopping, and settling for their Championship status; they need to go again, they need to try again.

"They need to bring in three or four top players and think about the next step in their journey, and that journey, for me, is back to the Premier League.

"I say it all the time but that’s a club which deserves to be in the Premier League. Did you see the following they had all season in the third tier? Did you see how many fans filled the streets of London on the day of the play-off final? Come on... that’s a Premier League club.

“Sheffield Wednesday is a big, big club - they need to be looking at the Premier League as their end goal - and not just staying in the division for a season or two, but establishing themselves once again as a Premier League side for 20 years."

The attacker scored 26 goals for Wednesday during his time at Hillsborough, many of which deserve their own highlights reel considering the quality of them.