What is happening with Barry Bannan’s Sheffield Wednesday contract?
Barry Bannan completed his ninth season at Hillsborough in the 2024/25 campaign, with the 35-year-old once again being an integral part of the Owls side.
Bannan played 41 times in the Championship last season, meaning that all but one of his nine seasons at the club have seen him play over 40 league games, with the sole anomaly coming way back in the 2017/18 season.
Bannan’s contract expired at the end of the season, and Sheffield Wednesday showed their intentions of keeping him around by offering him a new deal.
Sheffield Wednesday’s captain has shown incredible longevity across his entire career, and many Owls fans will be hoping that he can cross a decade at the club by remaining at Hillsborough for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
Barry Bannan’s contract talks are still up in the air
It’s been radio silence in terms of contract updates at Sheffield Wednesday since they released their retained list in mid-May.
The list states that Bannan, along with Callum Patterson and Akin Famewo, were offered new contracts at the culmination of the season, but all have yet to officially accept new terms.
Now, there are more pressing matters at hand at Sheffield Wednesday at the moment regarding the club’s recent charges for breaching the EFL regulations relating to payment obligations, so announcing new deals may be on the back burner for now.
You’d expect that if a new offer has been tabled to Bannan in the past month since the season ended, his legendary status at the club would make people inclined to believe that the deal is an adequate one, and the 35-year-old will likely be at the club for his testimonial year next season.
Wage issue hold-up could have affected Barry Bannan contract talks slightly
Dejphon Chansiri has been charged with “causing the club to be in breach of EFL’s Regulations, despite his commitment to fund their cash requirements,” after Sheffield Wednesday’s wages were again left unpaid on time for the second time in three months.
The lack of stability at the top of the club could be a potential reason why news surrounding a new contract for the Wednesday legend is yet to surface. Perhaps Bannan is waiting for a solution before committing to his tenth year, too.
Either way, Sheffield Wednesday fans are due some good news too, and bringing in the man who has been instrumental in the good on the pitch at Hillsborough over the past nine years would very much suffice.
If he does return, he’ll likely have the chance to break into the top four of the all-time Wednesday appearance makers next season, of which he currently sits eighth with 447.
‘Quite ludicrous’ – Football finance expert makes revelation over Chansiri’s plummeting Sheffield Wednesday takeover valuation
Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri’s valuation of the club has dropped from £350m to £75m, Kieran Maguire has said.
Sheffield Wednesday are a club in limbo again amid more delayed staff payments at Hillsborough. SWFC were in a similar peril in April, but an embargo was avoided and payments were settled.
This saga looks to have deepened now though, with staff still waiting to be paid.
The developments have piled fresh pressure on owner Dejphon Chansiri. The Wednesday faithful have called for the Thai businessman to sell up for some time now, though no such deal has ever come truly close to fruition.
It is common knowledge among Sheffield Wednesday fans that Chansiri will only sell to the right buyer at the right price, though his valuation of the club has been worlds above what reasonable takeover consortiums would be ready to cough up.
However, speaking on the latest edition of The Price of Football podcast, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has provided a shock insight into how Chansiri’s SWFC valuation has plummeted. He said:
“I was reading one story this morning that Chansiri has been in contact with people.
“His initial asking price was £350m – that is quite ludicrous. We saw Derby County go for £60m.
“I’ve had conversations with some people who said he was asking for £150m, and I’ve heard from yet a third party that that priced has now been halved yet again and he’s now looking for £75m to £80m.
“It’s not worth that in my view. Having done the very crude calculations that we use in the world of football finance, my gut feeling is somewhere between £40m and £50m would be a fair price.”
Moving towards a conclusion?
For Sheffield Wednesday, it is a crying shame that it has come to this.
There are few fans at Hillsborough who wouldn’t have seen such a grisly period coming as unfortunately, the signs have been there for some time. Chansiri bought the club with ambitious plans and spent well in the opening years to earn the support of the club’s loyal fanbase.
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