Sheffield Wednesday ace Yan Valery fires dig Southampton fans will love after win vs Portsmouth

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Former Southampton defender Yan Valery helped Sheffield Wednesday notch their first Championship win of the season against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Owls skipper Barry Bannan scored a delightful free-kick in the opening exchanges to put visiting Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 up, before George Brown’s strike early in the second half doubled the Owls’ lead.

Full-back Yan Valery provided the assist for Brown, and it was the former Southampton man who wound up their bitter rivals after the Owls’ win.

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Yan Valery says it’s ‘always a pleasure’ to win at Portsmouth

Valery limped off during the opening day defeat at Leicester City, but the Sheffield Wednesday star has played the full 90 minutes in all of their following Championship outings and enjoyed his best performance of the season at Portsmouth.

The Tunisian international is a product of the Southampton academy and went on to make 53 appearances for then-Premier League Southampton before leaving for Angers and returning to English football with Wednesday in the summer of 2024.

Southampton and Portsmouth are fierce rivals, drawing 0-0 in the South Coast derby last weekend.

Evidently, the full-back’s ties to his former club still run deep, with Valery taking to social media after the Owls’ win at Fratton Park to rub salt in the Portsmouth wounds.

Valery said on Instagram: “3pts, cleansheet and always a pleasure to win at Fratton Park 😁, hard work and togetherness always pays off. 👊🏽 Big thanks to all the fans who travelled yesterday 🙏🏽”.

Despite the dig, which will delight his former fans, it was the comments about Sheffield Wednesday’s performance at Portsmouth that are most telling.

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Sheffield Wednesday must continue their ‘togetherness’

Despite the financial and footballing issues still plaguing Sheffield Wednesday, Pedersen’s squad showed great “togetherness”, in the words of Valery, to notch their first three points haul of the season.

Even Portsmouth boss John Mousinho thought Sheffield Wednesday deserved to win, and his comments about application were telling.

Mousinho told The Star: “Sheffield Wednesday were far better than us. They outfought us, outran us, out-competed, were better on the ball, more clinical, and made better decisions in every department.”

Pedersen’s squad is down to the bare bones, and they will have to fight for every point amid their uphill battle to stave off relegation.

As seen at Fratton Park, Bannan has the sheer ability to win games for Sheffield Wednesday of his own accord, and if the Owls’ fighting spirit can match their skipper’s quality, they could very well stay up this season.