Sheffield Wednesday have sealed the signature of Preston North End forward Neil Mellor who joins the club on a season-long loan deal. Neil follows in the footsteps of his father Ian who played for the Owls in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Ian was a winger who sealed his place in Wednesday folklore during his time at the club by scoring the opening goal in the 4-0 1979 Boxing Day massacre over fierce rivals Sheffield United.
Neil Mellor hails from Sheffield but first made his name in football for Liverpool where he came through the academy ranks. Mellor first got into the Liverpool side in 2002/03 and although he appearances for the Merseyside club were sporadic he did find the net six times for the reds in less than 20 starts including a crucial strike against Olympiakos in 2004/05 on the way to the club winning the UEFA Champions League.
His time at Anfield was hampered by numerous injury problems and when he joined Wigan on loan in January 2006 he scored on his debut only for further injury problems to strike once more, restricting him to a handful of appearances.
Mellor joined Preston North End on a three-year deal in August 2006 and signed a new four-year deal at the club in 2008. His ability in front of goal was clearly evident during his first three seasons at the Championship club but injuries played a big part in restricting his form and consistency again.
Last season however was his most productive in terms the number of games he was involved in and the striker bagged 10 goals in 29 league starts and a further 10 appearances from the bench.
Having worked with Mellor during his time at Preston Owls manager Alan Irvine is well aware of what the striker has to offer and is delighted to bring the player to the club as they bid to launch their League One promotion challenge.
Mellor joins fellow Friday signing Gary Teale at Hillsborough, bringing the total number of new faces joining the playing squad over the summer to seven.