Championship player of the year contender names Sheffield Wednesday man as his standout opponent

The diminutive Scot, a class act since his Hillsborough arrival in 2015, has by his own admission not quite reached the heights of campaigns past this time out having taken injections in order to play through a groin injury for the majority of the season.

But the fact is that he leads the way for Wednesday in a number of key performance statistics and is placed among the league’s best in terms of chances created (2nd) and crossing accuracy (1st).

And now Brentford’s Ollie Watkins, second-top in the Championship scoring charts, has made a big commendation for Bannan’s class.

Asked who was the best player he’d played against in a social media question-and-answer session, Watkins didn’t hesitate to name the 30-year-old Wednesday man, describing him as a ‘serious baller’.

Bannan has spoken about his love for the Wednesday support and has vowed to repay the faith shown in him early on in his Wednesday career.

“You get certain players that rely on their pace and stuff like that and you tend to lose that when you are a bit older,” Bannan told the Claret & Blue Podcast.

“But I think I am one of these lucky ones that can maybe play and my game won't change as much as it would from when I was younger.

“Hopefully I have got another five or six good years ahead of me. Touch wood, I stay clear from injuries and stuff like that but I want to play in the Premier League.”