He believes that his old team will give him and table-topping Stoke colleagues a formidable test when he faces them for the first time since his £500,000 exit in January.

"Wednesday have picked up and got themselves some good results; we are expecting a very tough game," he told The Star.

"Obviously I'm a Stoke player now and I want us to win - but I want Wednesday to stay up.

"I enjoyed my time at Hillsborough.

"I have a lot of respect for the manager and coaching staff.

"I think the club have a great chance of staying up.

"They have one or two games in hand; there are a few clubs around them who are really struggling; and I think they have enough in the dressing room to stay up.

"I've stayed in touch with a few of the lads, and I've taken the opportunity to watch a couple of games.

"I''m happy with the way things have gone at Stoke; it's up to us to keep it going to the end of the season."

The Owls felt they could not refuse Stoke's offer for Whelan, Brian Laws believes the club have benefited because it provided the money for five loan signings: Graham Kavanagh, Enoch Showunmi, Adam Bolder, Ben Sahar and Franck Songo'o.

Enoch Showunmi, meanwhile, has been linked with Leeds.

Sahar scored in Israel Under 21s' 1-0 win against Moldova in Tel Aviv, to follow his debut strike for the Owls against Crystal Palace last Saturday.

Laws is hoping that Sahar and Deon Burton report back from international duty unscathed: Burton was on duty with Jamaica in a 2-2 draw with Trinidad and Tobago in Kingston.

What do you think? Post your comments below.

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