Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed on their club website that they will be releasing six players.
The end of the season means that a number of players contracts are running out and Wednesday have more reason than ever to reduce the wage bill. Last summer they were under a transfer embargo which meant they were unable to bring in players until the last day of the loan transfer window, contributing to their poor form in the first half of the season.
The players that Wednesday have decided to release are Almen Abdi, George Boyd, Gary Hooper, David Jones, Marco Matias and Daniel Pudil. Some of these would have been expected. Abdi has barely played due to a number of injury problems he has suffered while at the club and Pudil suggested he was set to leave after issuing a statement on his Instagram account. Jones has also not featured much for the Owls since the appointment of Steve Bruce as head coach.
However some of the other releases do come as a surprise. While Boyd was never a fan favourite, he has featured regularly for Wednesday since his arrival. Matias has also been a regular for the club and even earned a penalty for the club in their 2-1 defeat to QPR today. The biggest shock is the departure of Hooper. Ever since returning from injury, Hooper has been a regular in the first team. But the club have decided to let him go, perhaps because of the many other strikers Wednesday have at their disposal.
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