Wycombe Wanderers could secure the return of two former players this summer following their release from their respective Championship clubs with either signing being seen as a huge coup for the club.
Reports suggest Phillips and Onyedima could return to Adam’s Park this summer.
A report was released on the 20th of July that reveals former Wycombe players, Matt Phillips and Fred Onyedima, could make a return to the Buckinghamshire club this summer with the pair both open to a return according to Bucks Free Press.
There are rumours that following his time in the midlands with West Brom, Matt Phillips, has since returned southwards, preparing for the upcoming season with a personal trainer based in Oxford.
27-year-old, Fred Onyedima, is also local to Wycombe following his departure from Luton Town, just northeast of Adam’s Park.
Matt Phillips could make a sensational return after fourteen years away from Wycombe.
As a teenager, Phillips progressed quickly through the Wycombe academy, making a few cameo appearances aged just seventeen.
Phillips enjoyed two seasons with Wycombe where he shone incredibly brightly, recording 87 appearances for The Chairboys in which he scored 9 times, assisting a further 6, all before leaving the club still as a teenager.
Blackpool picked up the winger for £375,000 in a move that saw Phillips accelerate his career all the way from the fourth tier up to the Premier League at just nineteen. Many fans at Wycombe were saddened to see a bright academy talent depart however as Wanderers manager at the time, Gary Waddock stated ‘He’s an outstanding prospect and I’m sorry to lose him’. (The Guardian)
After stints at QPR and Sheffield United, albeit the latter spell being a short loan move, Phillips moved to West Brom where he would become a stalwart.
Phillips, who has sixteen caps for Scotland, featured 255 times for The Baggies since joining them in 2016, contributing 62 times across his eight-year spell with the club which was brought to an end this summer as Phillips himself released a farewell message to the club’s supporters, days before his contract was due to expire. (@Phillips1303 on Instagram)
Luton Town announced Onyedima’s release following the club’s relegation.
Fred Onyedima, unlike Matt Phillips, is a name likely to be more familiar to the younger fans of Wycombe Wanders, even though the Nigerian winger made his debut for The Chairboys ten years ago.
Tricky winger, Onyedima, incredibly flip-flopped between Millwall and Wycombe after having two separate loans to Wanderers, one in 2014 and the second in 2018, before eventually securing a permanent switch to the club in July 2019.
Onyedima has 33 goal contributions to his name throughout his three spells at Wycombe, with his latest spell ended by interest from Championship side, Luton Town, who purchased the wide-man 2021 following Onyedima’s impressive performances in a Wycombe side that failed to stay up following promotion through the League One play-offs.
Fred went on to enjoy play-off glory again, as he did with Wycombe, as Luton Town secured promotion to the Premier League against all odds, although a loan to Rotherham in the summer after seemingly halted any dreams of Onyedima getting a Premier League appearance.
However, incredibly, Rob Edward’s side suffered so many injuries that Onyedima was recalled and even ended up playing eight times in the top flight for Luton as they were narrowly relegated.
Both Onyedima and Phillips are free agents.
Neither Fred Onyedima nor Matt Phillips have announced their next steps in football following their releases from their clubs, leaving the door ajar for a potentially spectacular Wycombe return.
Both would provide The Chairboys with star quality as well as almost unrivalled EFL experience which Wycombe will hope could help them in escaping their current League One rut after the club has steadily declined following its relegation from the Championship back in 2021.