Exclusive:Barry Bannan closing in on Sheffield Wednesday return as Owls step up transfer plans
Millwall midfielder Barry Bannan is poised to seal a fairytale return to Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday are edging closer to re-signing former captain Barry Bannan from Millwall, The Star can reveal.
The 36-year-old, who attended the unveiling of a mural dedicated to him at The Park pub in Hillsborough on Sunday afternoon, is poised to return to the Owls just five months after leaving S6 to move to The Den in January.
The Lions signed Bannan to boost their chances of securing promotion to the Premier League, tying him down to an 18-month contract. Unfortunately for them, they missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season before falling short in the Championship play-off semi-finals, being beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Hull City.
The Scot, who established himself as a modern-day Owls legend throughout his ten-and-a-half-year spell at Hillsborough, racking up 477 appearances, made no secret of his desire to retire in S6 at numerous stages of his Wednesday career. At the time of his exit earlier this year, he admitted he would also be open to returning to the club in a coaching capacity in the future.
However, The Star understands he is set to return to Hillsborough to assist with Wednesday’s push for an immediate return to the Championship next season, and the deal could be finalised within the next few days. It is understood that the deal will not require a transfer fee.
Bannan has his heart set on a return to Hillsborough, and both Wednesday and Millwall are fully aware of his ambition to return to South Yorkshire. Wednesday are equally keen to get a deal finalised to add some much-needed experience to Henrik Pedersen’s squad.
The Owls will get their pre-season preparations up and running on Wednesday, reporting back to Middlewood Road for fitness and conditioning testing before starting pre-season proper on June 29.
Wednesday have already sealed the signing of Swansea City defender Ricardo Santos, marking the first signing of the Arise Capital Partners era, and they are determined to get more bodies through the door as quickly as possible amid the need to produce a major rebuild.