Chey Dunkley opens up on Wigan saga and how he came to sign for 'massive’ Sheffield Wednesday
and live on Freeview channel 276
The 28-year-old centre-half became the club’s second signing of the summer having joined on a free transfer. And speaking to the Jay Whittle podcast, he revealed that a contract offer at Wigan was withdrawn as the Lancashire club continued to wrestle financial oblivion.
Dunkley is one of several players to have left since they were slapped with a 12-point deduction and relegation to League One. He described the situation players and staff have found themselves in there as ‘limbo’ and revealed a lack of communication with administrators attempting to forge a way forward.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“It's heartbreaking,” he said. “It's a family-run club and even in times when we weren't on good runs and I really felt that support.
“I still feel that connection with the club. I will still follow the club moving on. Although I'm at Sheff Wed now, I do follow the clubs I've been at; Oxford, Wigan, Kidderminster, Hednesford. It's just a natural thing, you get that natural connection.
“It's heartbreaking what's happened to this club and for things to change we're being made an example of. We have to take the punishment so that this doesn't happen to another club again.”
Dunkley’s signing represents a huge coup for Wednesday, who was of interest to a handful of other Championship rivals. Garry Monk’s ambitious vision for Wednesday is what appears to have swung it in their favour.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe said: “I had a lot of interest from other clubs and it comes to the point when you can't wait any longer.
“The season is starting on the 12th of September, you're kind of forced into a decision and that's how it happened. I didn't get it all sorted at Wigan and I ended up signing for a big club, a massive club, Sheffield Wednesday.
“They showed interest and it wasn't really a hard decision. The gaffer is a top gaffer, he has his vision, I believe in that vision and it's a real good club when it gets going, so the opportunity that was brought to me was that it was an easy decision with what was going on at Wigan, the fact that there was no contract there.”
Dunkley went further into describing the circumstances around his switch across the Pennines, Dunkley said of his situation at Wigan: “When there was a contract there it was taken away because they couldn't hand out contracts while they had these financial issues, so there was no contract there.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Naturally when other people start to put things on the table you start to look at it and that's how things happened.
“I'm over the moon to be at Sheff Wed. It's a massive club, there's a vision there and I believe in it and I think we'll do well this season.”