No drama, no chaos - Sheffield Wednesday man has barmy fan moments in mind ahead of sell-out

It’ll be his first experience of a sold out Hillsborough and with plenty on the line, they’ll welcome play-off hunting West Bromwich Albion to S6 hoping not only to retain their place in the safety zone, but to leapfrog a team or two ahead of them by claiming a vital win.

And as the boom of Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining blasts out into the South Yorkshire afternoon, Valentin will drink it in. English football, he said, is a bit special on that front.

“I cannot wait to be on the pitch,” said the Spaniard, who has enjoyed a remarkable story arc in his debut season with Wednesday.

“It is the beginning of the game when the people sing their song, I want to feel that. In Spain it is not the same as here, you can really feel the people in that moment.

“It is one of the most important things. We are here because of all the team, all the fans and believing in what we are doing. This is how we changed the situation because we never gave up and it is the fans as well. They did all the travels. If they didn’t believe then 7,000 would not have come to Blackburn. We will win both games but if something happens in these two games we will keep going with this job and this work.

“I knew when I came that English football has more fans than in Spanish football, but I didn’t know in the second division it was like this. All the people know Liverpool, Manchester United, teams like this, but it is incredible in the second division.

“One of the things that surprised me when I came, how the people support the team for me is incredible.”

That debut season has seen a huge personal and professional voyage for 27-year-old Valentin, who has learned a new language and has grown into a style of play previously foreign to him. It’s no secret that in his earliest outings it showed, but time and hard work has proven him to be a player suited to the Championship. He has featured in every league match since an injury niggle in December and has developed fan favourite status.

With two matches to go and survival in their own hands, Valentin is hoping for no more drama in a season that has had plenty.

“This league and this season is so crazy,” he said. “When I came, so many things were new - a new language, country and so on, then there is the weather! I don’t want more drama please, we don’t need more, the fans don’t need more drama. We will keep it calm please.

“I want to win both games. I don’t want to suffer more, to win the last game and have to check my phone to see how the other scores are. Let’s win both games and don’t suffer more, please!

“I cannot imagine how the celebration will be when we stay up. It will be crazy because after six months of drama we will do a very big celebration I think.”