Joshua Dean Windass (born 9 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Sheffield Wednesday. He can also play as a forward.
![]() Windass training with Accrington Stanley in 2014 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Joshua Dean Windass[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1994-01-09) 9 January 1994 (age 28)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Hull, England[2] | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder / Forward | ||
Club 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 | 67 | (17) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:05, 12 November 2022 (UTC) |
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]
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]
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 Rangers F.C. 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]
He signed for Wigan Athletic on 9 August 2018.[21]
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]
Windass was born in Hull, Humberside,[1] and is the son of former professional Dean Windass.[4][35]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Accrington Stanley | 2013–14[36] | EFL League Two | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
2014–15[37] | 35 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 40 | 6 | ||
2015–16[38] | 32 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 17 | ||
Total | 77 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 86 | 23 | ||
Rangers | 2016–17[39] | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
2017–18[40] | 33 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 18 | ||
2018–19[41] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 55 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 73 | 19 | ||
Wigan Athletic | 2018–19[41] | EFL Championship | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 5 | |
2019–20[44] | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 4 | |||
Total | 54 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 9 | ||
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2019–20[44] | EFL Championship | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 3 | |
Sheffield Wednesday | 2020–21[26] | EFL Championship | 41 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 44 | 10 | |
2021–22[45] | EFL League One | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 12 | 4 | |
2022–23[46] | EFL League One | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | |
Total | 67 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 75 | 20 | ||
Career total | 262 | 64 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 298 | 74 |
Primarily an attacking midfielder, Windass can also play as a forward.[47]
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. – current squad | |
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