Josh Windass

Josh Windass

Windass training with Accrington Stanley in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Joshua Dean Windass [1]
Date of birth	(1994-01-09) 9 January 1994 (age 30) [1]
Place of birth	Hull, England [2]
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [3]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team	Sheffield Wednesday
Number	11
Youth career
2002–2012	Huddersfield Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	Harrogate Railway Athletic
2013–2016	Accrington Stanley	75	(22)
2016–2018	Rangers	55	(13)
2018–2020	Wigan Athletic	54	(9)
2020	→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	9	(3)
2020–	Sheffield Wednesday	109	(30)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:31, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Joshua Dean Windass (born 9 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and forward for Sheffield Wednesday.

After playing youth football for Huddersfield Town, Windass began his senior career in non-league football with Harrogate Railway Athletic. He later played for Accrington Stanley, Rangers, and Wigan Athletic. After signing for Sheffield Wednesday on loan, the transfer was made permanent.

Career

Early career

Windass played youth football for Huddersfield Town, spending ten years with the club. ^[4] He was released in April 2012 and trialled with Bradford City that same month. ^[5] Windass began his senior career with non-league team Harrogate Railway Athletic in December 2012. ^[6] He played on a semi-professional basis, combining his football career with a job as a construction labourer. ^[4]

Accrington Stanley

He signed a professional contract with Accrington Stanley in July 2013. ^{[7] [8]} He made his professional debut on 9 November 2013, in the FA Cup. ^[9] In November 2015 he turned down a new contract from the club on the advice of his father. ^[10] In January 2016 Accrington announced that Scottish club Rangers had approached Windass and teammate Matt Crooks directly, due to them being in the final six months of their contracts. ^[11] The duo agreed pre-contracts with Rangers later that month, ahead of the 2016–17 season. ^[12]

Rangers

Windass joined Rangers on 1 July 2016, signing a four-year contract alongside fellow Accrington player Matt Crooks. Both players had already been training with the club before completing their transfers after Rangers agreed a compensation fee with Accrington, reported to be around £60,000 per player. ^[13] Windass made his debut for Rangers in a pre-season friendly against American side Charleston Battery on 7 July 2016, scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 win. ^[14] His official debut was against Motherwell in the Scottish League Cup on 16 July ^[15] and Windass netted his first goal for the club against Lowland Football League side East Stirlingshire six days later. ^[16] Windass spent periods of the first half of the 2016–17 season on the sidelines due to a recurring hamstring injury in early August ^[17] and October. ^[18] Despite this, Windass was linked with a return to England in December 2016, with EFL Championship sides Derby County and Newcastle United reportedly showing an interest in the midfielder. ^[19]

During the 2017–18 season, Windass finished the season with 18 goals in all competitions, tied (with Alfredo Morelos) as the club's top scorer for the season; with 13 of Windass' strikes in the league, the third-highest total behind Kris Boyd and Morelos. ^[20]

Wigan Athletic

He signed for Wigan Athletic on 9 August 2018. ^[21]

Sheffield Wednesday

Windass joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season on 31 January 2020. ^[22] Due to COVID-19 his loan spell was extended until the end of July. ^[23]

On 2 September 2020, he made his move to Sheffield Wednesday a permanent signing for an undisclosed fee. ^{[24] [25]} His first appearance on his return to the club was on 5 September 2020, in the EFL Cup away to Walsall, where he came on as a second-half substitute. ^[26] He would score his first goal as a permanent Wednesday player, on the opening day of the season in an away win against Cardiff City. ^[26] He would win the clubs player of the month competition during his first month back at the club, after scoring 2 goals in 5 appearances. ^[27] Following relegation to League One, Windass was heavily linked with moves back to the Championship, with the club rejecting offers in the region of £1 million for him. ^[28]

During pre-season for the 2021–22 season, Windass suffered a hamstring injury during a friendly against West Bromwich Albion which would rule him out for two months and the start of the League One season. ^[29] Despite being injured, he signed a new two-year deal at the club on 10 August 2021, which would see him remain at the club until the summer of 2023. ^{[30] [31]} Following his injury, he returned to the squad on 20 November as an unused substitute against Accrington Stanley ^[32] and made his playing come back a few days later, coming off the bench to score an injury time winner against Milton Keynes Dons. ^[33] Following the end of the 2021–22 season, there was again interest in him, with his ex Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha linking him with a surprise move to Atlético Talleres reported. ^[34]

He scored two braces, against Cambridge United in League One and Newcastle United in the FA Cup, resulting in him winning the club's player of the month for January 2023 ^[35] and a nomination from the EFL for player of the month. ^[36] His form for the 2022–23 season, saw him and teammate Barry Bannan make the EFL League One team of the Season. ^[37]

He scored the only goal in the last minute of the League One play-off final against Barnsley to gain promotion to the Championship. ^{[38] [39]} Wednesday exercised an option in his contract for him to remain at the club for another season. ^[40]

His goal against Blackburn Rovers, a looping chip from range that dropped under the crossbar won the April Championship Goal of the Month. ^{[41] [42]} Following the end of the 2023–24 season, the club offered Windass a new contract. ^[43]

Playing style

Primarily an attacking midfielder, Windass can also play as a forward. ^[44]

Personal life

Windass was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, ^[1] and is the son of former professional Dean Windass. ^{[4] [45]}

Career statistics

As of match played 4 May 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Accrington Stanley	2013–14 [46]	League Two	10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	2014–15 [47]	League Two	35	6	3	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	40	6
	2015–16 [48]	League Two	32	16	2	1	1	0	0	0	35	17
	Total		77	22	6	1	2	0	1	0	86	23
Rangers	2016–17 [49]	Scottish Premiership	21	0	2	0	4	1	–		27	1
	2017–18 [50]	Scottish Premiership	33	13	4	5	3	0	1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	41	18
	2018–19 [51]	Scottish Premiership	1	0	0	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 4] [52] [53]	0	5	0
	Total		55	13	6	5	7	1	5	0	73	19
Wigan Athletic	2018–19 [51]	Championship	39	5	1	0	0	0	–		40	5
	2019–20 [54]	Championship	15	4	1	0	0	0	–		16	4
	Total		54	9	2	0	0	0	–		56	9
Sheffield Wednesday (loan)	2019–20 [54]	Championship	9	3	0	0	0	0	–		9	3
Sheffield Wednesday	2020–21 [26]	Championship	41	9	1	0	2	1	–		44	10
	2021–22 [55]	League One	9	4	0	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	12	4
	2022–23 [56]	League One	34	11	4	3	1	1	3 [lower-alpha 6]	1	42	16
	2023–24 [57]	Championship	25	6	1	1	2	0	0	0	28	7
	Total		109	30	6	4	5	2	5	1	126	37
Career total			304	77	20	10	14	3	11	1	349	91

1. Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
5. One appearance in the EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs
6. Appearances in League One play-offs

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday

• EFL League One play-offs: 2023 ^[38]

Individual

• EFL League One Team of the Season: 2022–23 ^[37]

References

1. "Josh Windass". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
2. Josh Windass at Soccerbase
3. "Josh Windass". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
4. Hart, Simon (30 October 2015). "Josh Windass is helping Accrington Stanley's promotion push" . The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
5. "Baker's at the double for City reserves". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford: Newsquest Media Group. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
6. David Watters (22 December 2012). "Saturday's Transfer List". Evo-Stik Northern Premier League. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
7. "Accrington Stanley sign Josh Windass on one-year contract". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
8. "Harrogate Railway winger Josh Windass joins Accrington Stanley". Ripon Gazette. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
9. "Accrington 0–1 Tranmere". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
10. "Josh Windass: Accrington forward to 'make own decision' on future". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
11. "Rangers talk to Accrington's Matt Crooks and Josh Windass". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
12. "Rangers: Josh Windass and Matt Crooks sign pre-contract deals". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
13. "Rangers and Accrington agree cash deal for Josh Windass and Matt Crooks". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
14. Ralston, Gary (7 July 2016). "Charleston Battery 1 Rangers 2: Josh Windass hits debut goal to help Gers win". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
15. McLaughlin, Chris (16 July 2016). "Motherwell 0–2 Rangers". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
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19. Benson, Rory (6 December 2016). "Rangers' former Town midfielder linked to Newcastle and Derby". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
20. "Top Scorers - Scottish Premiership - Football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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31. "Windass signs Owls deal as Sow joins". BBC Sport.
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36. "Sky Bet League One: January Manager and Player of the Month nominees". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
37. "EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed". EFL. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
38. Ian Woodcock (29 May 2023). "Barnsley 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
39. "Sheffield Wed beat Barnsley with 123rd-minute winner". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
40. "Owls retained list confirmed". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
41. "Windass stunner in Goal of the Month running!". Sheffield Wednesday FC. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
42. "Windass wins Championship Goal of the Month!". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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44. "Josh Aiming For Top Scorer". Rangers Football Club, Official Website. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
45. Thomson, Doug (21 May 2010). "Famous fathers of new Huddersfield Town academy players". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
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48. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
49. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
50. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
51. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
52. "NK Osijek 0-1 Rangers: Alfredo Morelos header earns away win". BBC Sport. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
53. "Rangers 1-1 NK Osijek (agg 1-0)". BBC Sport. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
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56. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
57. "Games played by Josh Windass in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2020.