Sheffield Wednesday find themselves in a tough position after ending the 2022/23 campaign on cloud nine.
Sheffield Wednesday missed out on automatic promotion but a remarkable play-off campaign saw them return to the Championship. The hope would have been that from there, they could act quickly to gear up for the new season but with Darren Moore departing and a number of players moving on, the squad is looking pretty bare.
Over next season there will be a lot of work to do on the contract front as well.
Here, we look at the contract state of play of every Sheffield Wednesday player…
Out of contract in 2024
Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer, Lee Gregory, Dominic Iorfa, Will Vaulks, George Byers, Cameron Dawson, Josh Windass, Tyreeq Bakinson, Ciaran Brennan (one-year option)
There are some vital players in here that Sheffield Wednesday should definitely be hoping to hold onto beyond the end of next season and if not, it wouldn’t be a surprise if moves away transpire over the next year or so.
The likes of Bannan and Palmer just seem to keep going as they get older and when they inevitably exit at some point down the line, they won’t be easy to replace. Forward Windass could definitely test himself at another club and he’ll surely have interest from elsewhere. The same could be said for George Byers but he too is someone Wednesday should want to keep.
Game time could be key for the likes of Iorfa, Dawson, Bakinson and Brennan.
Out of contract in 2025
Michael Smith, Callum Paterson, Akin Famewo
This goes to show just how much work there is to do on the contract and transfer front. All three players can maintain important roles over the next two years but a big rebuild needs to be on the horizon at Hillsborough.
Undisclosed contracts
You will notice that returning loan star Reece James is not on this list. As of the time of writing, the length of his contract has not emerged, with Wednesday eluding to mentioning the length of his agreement in their announcement of his permanent return.
Centre-back Michael Ihiekwe’s contract length hasn’t been reported either, nor is that of versatile forward Mallik Wilks since they both signed last summer.
