Wycombe Wanderers were lured to think they'd struck gold with Reading FC raid | OneFootball

Olly Pendlebury exploded onto the scene at Wycombe Wanderers, but the hype was short lived.

Wycombe Wanderers thought they'd struck gold when Olly Pendlebury burst onto the scene in 2021, but things didn't pan out as his first few appearances suggested they might.

Pendlebury was a local lad, born just down the road from High Wycombe in Maidenhead, and represented Marlow FC in his youth football days, which is also just a stone's throw away from Adams Park. Therefore, it seemed like it was meant to be when Wycombe snapped him up on a free transfer, following his release from local rivals Reading.

He initially joined up with the B-team, as manager Sam Grace was familiar with the youngster from his Marlow days as an eight-year-old. However, he impressed first-team boss Gareth Ainsworth in pre-season, which led to him getting the nod in midfield at the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

In just his third game for the club, the then-teenager bagged a match-winning brace against Cheltenham Town with two identical goals from outside the box. This instantly gave fans flashbacks of Eberechi Eze, who did the exact same a few years prior when he emerged into the Chairboys first team, but that was as good as it got for the former Reading man.

The highly-rated midfielder spent all of his youth footballing career in the South East, starting out at Marlow before being signed by Reading. Pendlebury worked his way through the Royals' ranks and was linked with a move to Chelsea in 2017, before eventually being rewarded with his first-team debut in 2020, which would be his only senior appearance for the club.

After being released the following summer, the free agent was reunited with Grace at Marlow Road, to join up with Wycombe's newly-established B-team. After an excellent performance against Leicester City in pre-season, Pendlebury was rewarded by starting the first game of the new season against Accrington Stanley.

It was the following league game where he would really catch the eye though. Wanderers were level at 1-1 away to Cheltenham, applying the pressure but struggling to find a way through. Up stepped none other than Pendlebury with not one, but two delightful strikes from outside the box to secure his side a 3-1 win in only the fourth senior appearance of his entire career.

Of course, when any young player explodes onto the scene, eyebrows are raised and hype begins to surround the player in question. This was no different with Pendlebury, who had announced himself as a candidate to be the next breakout star of the Wycombe B-team. However, this wouldn't be the case.

Cheltenham Town heroics as good as it got for Pendlebury

Everyone expected Pendlebury to be a firm fixture in the team following his heroics against the Robins, but that wouldn't be the case, as the next match against Wigan Athletic would be his penultimate league appearance for the Chairboys.

Whilst he featured for the Blues in the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy, the midfielder was only seen once more in league action, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 win over Plymouth Argyle in November. This would mark the final time Pendlebury pulled on the quarters in a competitive fixture.

In January 2022, the ex-Reading man was loaned out to National League side Woking. He featured just four times for the Cards before being recalled by Wycombe just a month after the loan started. No appearances came for the Blues between then and the end of the season, which saw him released following the expiration of his contract in the summer of 2022.

It was a bit of a shock, to say the least, that Pendlebury found himself on the chopping block, especially considering the way he started the season. No clear reason was given as to why the midfielder's appearances decreased after his strong start, and why he was released, but it's safe to assume that Ainsworth felt this was the best decision for all parties.

Pendlebury's story is one of what could've been

Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

It was a real shame to see the youngster released after just one season at Adams Park. After his emergence into the first team and two important goals early on, coupled with the fact he was a local lad, everyone connected with the club would've wanted Pendlebury to make a name for himself at Wycombe.

Sadly, despite thinking they'd struck gold early into his stint at the club, Pendlebury became a forgotten man as quickly as he arrived on the scene just months prior. The youngster went on to join National League South side Farnborough after his release by the Chairboys, before joining Aldershot Town, Ayr United, and then returning to Farnborough, where he remained until February 2025. The former Wanderer has now linked up with Havant and Waterlooville in the Southern League Premier Division South.

Looking at his career path now, Wycombe won't be regretting their decision to allow the 23-year-old to depart the club in search of first-team football, as he's yet to taste EFL football since departing Adams Park. However, at his relatively young age, there is still plenty of time for Pendlebury to go on and have a solid career in professional football.

This story is one that fans will surely look back on and wonder 'what if?' When Pendlebury helped get his side past Cheltenham with two excellent goals in 2021, it was expected he was to be the next emerging star from the B-team, but the local lad never managed to lock down a place in Ainsworth's starting XI.