Barry Bannan found his ‘home’ at Sheffield Wednesday – and revealed his Callum Paterson bet

The Wednesday skipper got two sublime goals and an assist in the 5-2 win over the Brewers, taking his total goal contribution tally to 15 for the season as he leapfrogged Lee Gregory as the club’s top League One contributor in 2021/22.

And on the night, no player on the field had more shots (5), shots on target (2), touches (80) or possession (8.6%) than the diminutive Scot - and he also topped the charts for passes (64), accurate passes (53) and key passes (3) over the course of the 90 minutes.

Bannan’s sixth and seventh goals of the season – his first brace in a Wednesday shirt – made sure that the current campaign is already his highest-scoring since joining the club, and his relationship with the fans has never been stronger.

He’s made no secret of the fact that he feels partially responsible for last year's relegation with himself as club captain, but he’s desperate to make amends for the supporters with whom he’s grown so close to since joining in 2015.

“I’ve been here a long time,” he told The Star after his starring role at Hillsborough. “This club is part of my family now. My daughter, my future wife, they’ve taken the club into their hearts as well.

“When I signed here I was looking for a home, really. I’d never had one at Palace or Villa, and I’d been out on loan.

“I don’t know what it was, but as soon as I came here it felt like home, and the fans took to me. Ever since then I’ve not turned back, and the bond I’ve got with this club is the best that I’ve had in my career.”

And while he’s not set a definitive target in terms of goals for the campaign – there is a certain teammate of his that he’s looking to outdo, for a good cause, of course.

“I had a bet with Callum Paterson at the start of the season that I’d score more than him,” Bannan explained with a wry smile. “So I’m winning that at the minute! I want to hit double figures, and when I hit that we’ll see from there... We’ve got goals and assists, so I’m a little bit ahead of him, and hopefully it stays that way.

“I think it’s money, but it’ll go to charity - so whoever wins, a charity is winning at the end… And whoever wins, as long as we get promoted, we’re not bothered.”

Paterson – who has five goals and two assists in League One this season after scoring in his last three matches – still has some catching up to do, but if the Scottish duo can keep up their current form then the main winner will be Darren Moore and the Wednesday faithful, who will now be allowing themselves to dream about a summer trip to Wembley once again.

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