Sheffield Wednesday defender returns to training amid uncertain future
Owls fans hope they can keep star man for League One promotion push
Yan Valery has returned to training with Sheffield Wednesday.
The 27-year-old, who can play in defence and midfield, has been pictured back at Middlewood Road, all smiles with Owls boss Henrik Pedersen.
Valery has not featured in pre-season after being given extra time off after playing for Tunisia in this summer’s World Cup. He made three appearances for his country, playing 90 minutes against Japan and Holland, and 72 against Sweden. However, Tunisia were dumped out of the competition at the group stage, after losing all three of their fixtures heavily. Their campaign was turbulent, with manager Sabri Lamouchi sacked after just one match of the tournament.
There has been some uncertainty over Valery’s Owls future, after he spent the second-half of last season on loan at Swiss side BSC Young Boys, making 14 appearances, providing three assists. BSC Young Boys are believed to have agreed to pay the entirety of his wages, which resulted in a big saving for Wednesday during their well-known financial struggles. He had interest from elsewhere, too, including the Middle East. Pedersen expressed his disappointment at the time, saying: “Of course it’s a big blow to lose one of your best players. And it happened really quick, it came from nothing. It’s tough to lose a top player in the team.”
A move away before now seemed on the cards, with most fans accepting that he is too good for League One and that they would need to recruit another right-back. Valery still has one year remaining on his contract and Wednesdayites have reacted to him returning to training extremely positively. Keeping him would be a big boost but it remains to be seen what happens between now and the transfer window closing on September 1.
Valery has made 63 appearances for The Owls in total since signing from French club Angers SCO for a fee in June 2024, linking-up with then Wednesday manager Danny Rohl, who worked with him at Southampton.