Max Lowe's Sheffield Wednesday role outlined after conducting 'very important job' vs Charlton
Max Lowe produced another accomplished performance in Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at the weekend.
Manager Henrik Pedersen has highlighted the important role Max Lowe plays in Sheffield Wednesday’s build-up play after he produced another impressive performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at Hillsborough.
Lowe, who will celebrate his 29th birthday next month, banked a fourth successive Championship start against the Addicks as Wednesday recovered from a goal down to a share of the spoils via a second half equaliser from Gabriel Otegbayo.
Boss Pedersen named the same back-three as the one that started the 0-0 draw with Coventry City at the Coventry Building Society Arena the previous weekend, meaning Lowe started as the left-sided centre-back. After producing a stellar defensive performance against the Sky Blues, he was able to show a different side to his game against the Addicks, albeit one we have often seen throughout his Owls career.
Regularly coming out from the back with the ball at his feet, the former Sheffield United man completed 84 per cent of his attempted passes. Playing 64 passes in total, 24 of them were played in the opposition’s half, highlighting his ability to break the lines and drift into more advanced areas of the pitch.
Lowe’s return from a long-term injury lay-off has coincided with Wednesday’s return upturn in form, highlighting how big a loss he was during his three-month absence.
Providing a tactical explanation of the role Lowe played in Wednesday’s slatemate with Charlton, Pedersen told The Star: “He had a very important job today. The way Charlton are pressing with a 5-1-2-2, we knew that their left side would press more from out to in, the right striker would do more from in to out.
“So how we could play the two strikers away and let the centre-back step in, it was an important part of the game plan today. If they had the eight out in the opposite side, we could play around, then we had a good environment on our left side to come through.
“And if the eight came to him, then we also knew we were overloading the centre to use the red zone or to play around, so he was a very important part of the offensive game plan.”
Lowe, who joined Wednesday on a free transfer almost two years ago, is out-of-contract at Hillsborough at the end of this season, meaning he could soon depart S6. Unlike other players who are approaching the end of their current deals, The Star understands there isn’t an option for the Owls to extend his contract this summer.
Nevertheless, Pedersen has already outlined his desire to keep him at Hillsborough ahead of next season.
“I'd be very happy if Max is a part of the future,” the Owls boss said earlier this month. “I really like him as a person and I like him as a player. He's a strong character.”