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Owls captain Barry Bannan has signed a new deal at Sheffield Wednesday after being out of contract since June 30.
Sheffield Wednesday have endured a turgid post-season summer, but there is now finally light at the end of the tunnel.
Danny Rohl left Sheffield Wednesday this week, with the Owls placing his assistant Henrik Pedersen in charge of the first team ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign.
Amid the ongoing financial crisis at Sheffield Wednesday, under the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, several key Owls players have left the club this summer.
Owls captain Barry Bannan had been out of contract since June 30, but continued to train with the club despite his future uncertainty.
Now, finally, in some positive news for Sheffield Wednesday fans, the magical midfielder has revealed why he has decided to sign a new deal at Hillsborough.
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Barry Bannan signs new contract at Sheffield Wednesday
Bannan continued to train with Sheffield Wednesday despite being out of contract since the end of June.
Bannan broke his silence on social media on Friday evening, with an emotional message that included the statement “Remember, no storm lasts forever.”
Millwall and Middlesbrough were interested in Bannan, with his Hillsborough future hanging in the balance, but now the Scotsman has decided to extend his ten-year stay at Sheffield Wednesday.
Despite the club being in financial turmoil, Bannan explained: “Deep down inside I always knew what I wanted to do and what was going to happen.
“When you’re at this club for so long, you become a supporter, it’s hard not to, it’s your life really.
“I’ve made it clear in previous years, my love for the club and their love towards me is why I’m still going and still here.
“The club is a big part of my family that are here today with me, as I’m signing.
“My daughter loves the club, it’s all she knows, my little boy will love the club because I’ll make sure he does.”
Sheffield Wednesday reporter Joe Crann played down Bannan’s Owls exit talk after reports emerged from BBC Sport that the midfielder was ‘expected to finalise a transfer elsewhere imminently’.
Thankfully for the Owls fanbase, Bannan is staying put in S6, and the aforementioned reporter believes the former Aston Villa dynamo deserves special recognition for his services.
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Sheffield Wednesday told to build a Barry Bannan statue after his contract announcement
Sheffield Wednesday fans wanted a Bannan statue last month, when he was serenaded as a ‘legend’ following Bannan’s wishes to stay at Sheffield Wednesday.
On Saturday afternoon, in the wake of the contract announcement by Bannan, Crann said on X: “Barry Bannan has signed a new contract at Sheffield Wednesday, despite the wage restrictions on the club and the current turmoil that it’s in.
“Build the man a statue. One of the club’s greatest ever players.”
After 447 appearances, Bannan’s association with Sheffield Wednesday will continue, and that could be the decision that starts to turn the tide on the Owls’ turmoil.