FORWARD Jacob Brown admits being let go from Sheffield Wednesday’s academy might have been the ‘best thing’ for him.

Brown has been one of the season’s outstanding performers, attracting the interest of several sides in the January transfer window.

But if things had worked out differently, he said, he might have been turning out for the Owls today at Oakwell.

And while he said that his time in Wednesday’s academy feels like a ‘long time ago’, he added it would be nice to get one over on the club that released him as a 14-year-old.

“After leaving, I’ve kicked on from there and started enjoying my football which was the main thing I wanted to do,” said Brown. “When I came to Barnsley I’ve progressed from there.

“Ive been with the club for a very long time and since I’ve been here I’ve loved every minute of it.“I think it’s been the best thing for me.

“It was a long time ago, but it would be nice for me to score and get one over on the team that let me go.”

Brown signed for Guiseley AFC as a teenager, where he impressed in a match against Barnsley’s under 18s before going on trial with the Reds. The 21-year-old made his Barnsley debut in 2016 at Brentford and scored his first league goal at Fleetwood Town two years later.

Brown has not scored in the Championship since October, a run of 16 games without a goal – although he did net in the 3-1 FA Cup win at Crewe.

In Gerhard Struber’s system he is nominally a forward, but in the absence of wide midfielders he and Conor Chaplin – who has scored 11 in all competitions – often move out wide. Brown is joint fourth in the Championship assists table, with eight, and has registered seven of those playing under Struber.

Brown said: “Being an attacking player you want to be scoring every game, but if we win every game and I don’t score I don’t really mind.

“When Struber came in, he moved me to striker, which I think is my most comfortable position.

“Having the confidence to play in that position has been good, and me and Chaps link up well.”