Sheffield Wednesday: '˜Settled' Hunt pleased to call Owls his home

After a string of loan spells, the aimable Owls defender is relieved to be putting down roots - on and off the pitch.

Just twenty four hours after discovering his loan move from Crystal Palace was to be turned into a permanent switch, Hunt moved into his new house in Leeds.

The attack-minded full-back, born-and-bred in Leeds, then capped off a hectic week by featuring prominently in Wednesday’s battling win over their West Yorkshire counterparts.

He told The Star: “When I went to London, I decided to move down there. But after joining Rotherham on loan last year, I moved back up to Leeds to live in a rented house.

“I decided to buy a house in Leeds, which is where I am from, not knowing I would be signing for Sheffield Wednesday permanently.

“It has all really clicked into place, especially for my family. They have been through a lot since I signed for Crystal Palace in 2013.

“They have moved four or five times with me and I have got a little girl who is only 21-months old so it is very nice to be settled and that things have clicked.”

Hunt failed to make a single appearance for Palace and was farmed out on loan to Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham.

But having finalised his long-term future, the 25-year-old is looking forward to focusing on his football.

“It has been a stressful period,” admitted Hunt. “As much as I was really enjoying my time on the pitch, sometimes you go home and you think ‘what’s going to happen next season, am I going to go out on loan again and am I going to have the time to find a home?’

“When I signed for Wednesday, I think the first thing I said was that everyone has made me feel very welcome and I can call it home now.

“It is a little bit cheesy but that’s honestly how I feel after the way things have gone in my career in the last two years.”

Despite dropping down a level, Hunt is optimistic Wednesday possess the ingredients required to mount a serious promotion push.

“Wednesday are an ambitious club,” said Hunt, who has clocked up 23 appearances this term.

“I know I’ve left a Premier League club where I never got a chance to play but this is a club showing a real desire to get back in the Premier League and you can see that with the squad which has been built.

“I believe Wednesday have got a real chance of going up this season.

“If not this year, then definitely in the seasons coming.”

Hunt said he learned of the Owls’ interest in keeping him at the start of December.

“As soon as I knew they were interested, I made my intentions very clear that I wanted to stay and it was something I was very keen on,” he added.

For our Owls news and opinion on twitter follow here

For more news from Hillsborough click here

Follow Dom Howson on twitter