Exclusive:Barry Bannan landscape explained with Sheffield Wednesday return possible after Millwall gut-punch
Sheffield Wednesday’s bold new kickstart could include the return of an old face.
The return of Barry Bannan to Sheffield Wednesday remains a possibility this summer, The Star understands, as the club looks to navigate its way into a new era under US consortium Arise Capital Partners.
The Owls legend signed off on his season last night as new club Millwall lost out in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final against Hull City. Bannan started on the bench and came on after the hour only for the Tigers go on to win 2-0 and secure their place at Wembley to take on either Southampton or Middlesbrough.
The possibility of the return of Bannan has been something of a badly-kept secret in South Yorkshire since he ended a decade-long association with the Owls in January via a free transfer deal that saw him make the switch to The Den amid interest from elsewhere.
Wednesday are still awaiting the appointment of a sporting director and The Star understands that no final decision has been made on whether or not the club will seek to bring Bannan back as they approach a division in which he dominated last time around. There is a year remaining on his Millwall deal and The Star is told that while there is no outright release clause in his deal with the Lions, there is a timeframe in which a switch to Hillsborough would be made more streamlined should all parties see that as the best option.
Sources close to the changing room at S6 have suggested some level of expectation among his teammates that he will make a return, though the understanding is that there remains a road to be run before that approaches any sort of certainty. Bannan is understood to be open to a move back to Hillsborough despite their relegation and has often spoken about a desire to finish his playing career at S6.
The Owls are at the start of a vast squad rebuild of the squad after financial meltdown decimated the side that finished in midtable of the Championship in the 2024/25 season. Decisions are to be made on the club’s retained list, with a number of players approaching the end of their contracts. The Star understands that both Svante Ingelsson and Max Lowe are players the club wishes to tie down to new deals.
The Scot has made 16 appearances in his time at Millwall, though frustratingly only five of them have been starts. He came off the bench in a dour semi-final first leg to light the place up. Former Owl Akin Famewo was an unused substitute in the second leg but does stand to play a part in the play-off final on May 23.