'˜He has everything' - Why Sam Hutchinson plays at the back for Sheffield Wednesday

The 27-year-old was a mainstay of the Owls’ engine room last term with his drive and energy playing a big part in the club reaching the Championship play-off final, even allowing for the 14 yellow cards and two suspensions he served.

This time around, however, Hutchinson has been largely partnered with Tom Lees at the heart of the defence.

He has impressed in the role but, in his absence, the midfield has lost some of the zip that helped turn Wednesday into such an impressive unit last season, something that has led to calls for the former Chelsea junior to be restored to the centre of the pitch.

Carvalhal, however, insists the reasoning behind the switch still stands.

“We decided to put Sam at centre-half this season,” said the Portuguese. “Why? Firstly, we believe he really is a fantastic centre-half.

“He is fast, strong, very good with the ball – which for our style of football is good, building from the back – he is aggressive and a good header. He has everything to be a top central defender.

“Secondly, the way he played in midfield it was very aggressive. He ran a lot, liked to win all the balls, and in this kind of environment you can get injuries and yellow cards. So he missed games, not because of injuries, but because of the yellow cards.

“We analysed Sam as a midfielder and centre-half last season. After I spoke with him, we took the decision to play him at centre-half.”

Hutchinson has missed just two league games this term, the first of which was through suspension after being dismissed against Bristol City.

He then missed the 1-1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion after suffering a back injury in training.

Carvalhal added: “If you see him this season, he is playing regular and doing very well in that position.

“We have brought another midfielder in to that (holding) position, and we are very happy with ‘Jono’ (David Jones). He is a fantastic player, personality and quality, and getting better and better.

“Almen Abdi can play there, too. Jose Semedo can cover that position also, so it was a very good decision on our part to put Sam in defence.

“He is performing well.”