Former Sheffield Wednesday player Josh Onomah is on trial with Blackpool as he looks to earn a contract for the first time since leaving Preston North End in 2023. The former Tottenham Hotspur player has been a free agent for over a year after he left Deepdale at the conclusion of his deal at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
His trial period with Blackpool has seen him reunite with former Wednesday boss Steve Bruce, who will come up against the Owls in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. The Owls head to Bloomfield Road after beating Hull City 2-1 away from home in round one before hammering Grimsby Town 5-1 in the second round, with that tie also played away from Hillsborough. Onomah, according to the Blackpool Gazette, has been on trial at the League One club for over a month. Bruce, who managed the Owls 18 times between February 2019 and July 2019 before leaving for Newcastle United, made the move to the Seasiders on September 3 – replacing Neil Critchley who was sacked just weeks into the EFL season.
Onomah, who is now 27, came through the academy at Tottenham Hotspur but had spells on loan at Aston Villa and the Owls while under contract in North London. He was signed by Bruce at Villa on a season-long loan in 2017 and was already at Hillsborough when Bruce made the move to South Yorkshire in 2019. He scored four goals and provided three assists in 37 appearances for Villa. He never scored for the Owls during his loan in Yorkshire but did provide three assists in 15 games, as his time with the club was hampered by injury.
He spent three-and-a-half years with Fulham as he left Spurs after he returned from his loan with Wednesday. He joined Preston on a short-term deal in January 2023 but once that contract expired, he has found it hard to find a new club – as he continues to train at Blackpool on a trial basis. If a deal is agreed, he is unlikely to come up against the Owls as new players must be registered by 12pm on the working day before a fixture to be eligible for selection.
Onomah has a good relationship with Bruce, as he spoke in glowing terms about the former Manchester United player back in 2018. He told football.London via the Blackpool Gazette: “The Championship is a physical league and it’s all about playing men’s football. I think I’ve learned that side of my game and I want to thank Steve Bruce for helping me. He’s helped me on and off the pitch, he tells me where I’ve gone wrong and where I need to improve. That’s what you need from a manager. He’s an experienced man, as a manager and a player. For him to give me information you know what he’s saying and you just have to take it on board, just learn from him as much as possible.”
