Agents, advice and assists - Why one Sheffield Wednesday talisman has taken Alex Hunt under his wing

But the fact is that Barry Bannan chose him. Minutes into his first training session with the Owls’ first team the Scot had identified the diminutive midfielder as a chip off the old block and took it upon himself to act as the youngster’s footballing sensei.

Within a few weeks Hunt was signed with Bannan’s agent and the pass-master pairing, despite an age gap of 11 years, are good friends.

“He’s pretty similar in style to the way I play the game and I told my agent he was a good one to get,” Bannan said ahead of the 19-year-old’s impressive cameo display against Manchester City.

“We’re quite close off the pitch and with me being a bit older now I try to help him if I can.

“He’s doing really well. It’s difficult to try and play someone at that age at the minute. The manager is probably trying to get him minutes because he’s a good player.”

Several of Wednesday’s young players join the first team in training every day as Garry Monk attempts to breathe new life into their Middlewood Road training ground.

And while Hunt is not the only player to have impressed vice-captain Bannan, the midfielder singled him out for praise.

“It’s the way he passed the ball that caught my eye,” he said. “He was already training with us and being a midfielder I liked what I saw.

“It’s good to be giving him little bits of advice here and there and if it can help him then that’s good.”

Hunt has now made three first team appearances having made his debut under Jos Luhukay in 2018.

And while he has been chomping at the bit for more time on the pitch, Bannan is confident his time will come.

He said: “You think you can do it and you know you can do it, but sometimes you don’t get your chance and you do get upset, it’s normal.

But it’s about keeping the right frame of mind because in football you never know when you’re going to get called upon.”