Henrik Pedersen could deploy a new Sheffield Wednesday partnership for the first time vs Wrexham
Sheffield Wednesday will head into a Championship fixture without Barry Bannan for the first time in almost a year this weekend.
The last time Sheffield Wednesday went into a Championship fixture without Barry Bannan in the matchday squad Oxford United ran out 1-0 winners at Hillsborough.
It was at the end of a busy three-game week last April and Wednesday went into the contest on the back of a 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park a few days earlier.
Bannan was an unused substitute for the trip to Lancashire but was forced to sit out the visit of Oxford because of a rare injury complaint. It meant Stuart Armstrong and Shea Charles started in the Owls’ engine room with Josh Windass donning the captain’s armband just ahead of them.
Armstrong, Charles and Windass all exited Hillsborough last summer, as did six of the other starters that were named in Danny Röhl’s XI for the 1-0 defeat to the U’s last April. The only players still at Hillsborough from that particular starting XI are Pierce Charles, who is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, and Yan Valery, who could still leave the club before Monday night’s transfer deadline.
Playing 32 Championship games since that narrow defeat to Oxford, Bannan has featured in all of them, starting 31 times, meaning Saturday’s visit of Wrexham is going to feel somewhat strange.
Bannan left Hillsborough on Wednesday, marking the end of a ten-and-a-half-year spell in S6, to join Millwall, signing an 18-month deal in the capital. Starting every Championship game for the Owls this season prior to his departure, manager Henrik Pedersen, who will be desperate for further exits to be avoided before Monday night’s 7pm cut-off, will feel somewhat strange not including the Scot in his starting line-up.
With options already limited prior to Bannan’s exit, Pedersen is hardly tripping over himself when it comes to trying to find a solution to the Scot’s departure, not least in midfield. Svante Ingelsson has spent much of the season playing higher up the pitch, often drifting towards the left flank, Nathaniel Chalobah remains unavailable, likewise youngster Bruno Fernandes, and Valery, who had to play in midfield earlier this season, will almost certainly be required to play in defence again should he recover from the problem that forced him to miss last weekend’s defeat at Bristol City.
Realistically, it leaves Jaden Heskey, who joined the Owls on loan from Manchester City almost a fortnight ago, Jarvis Thornton and Rio Shipston as Wednesday’s only realistic options to start in the two midfield positions. It is a far from ideal situation, highlighting the limited number of options Pedersen has available to him.
Wednesday’s midfield options are very youthful
Between them, Heskey, Thornton and Shipston have made just 16 Championship appearances between them, ten of which belong to Thornton, who had not even started a Championship game in his career prior to Christmas.
Of course, Wednesday, at some point, were going to have to learn to live without Bannan, who had been a symbol of continuity for more than a decade. Unfortunately for them, they have lost him in their hour of need.
For Pedersen, it will mark the first time in his tenure as Wednesday boss he has been unable to call upon the Scot for a Championship fixture, meaning that will represent a challenge in itself for the Dane to try and overcome.
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Heskey, to his credit, has made a bright start to his Owls career, banking plenty of credit for his performance in the 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City a little over a week ago. He showed an appetite for the ball and was smooth and assured when he had possession, meaning he has quickly secured his place as a regular starter.
As things currently stand, Thornton is the most obvious replacement for Bannan to slot in next to Heskey, meaning the Owls are set to have a very youthful-looking midfield partnership on show. Both players, though, should view it as an opportunity to try and impress.
Wednesday are hoping to bring in a midfielder before the transfer window closes on Monday evening, and Luton Town’s Marvelous Nakamba is understood to be on their radar, but time is running out for them to get something done ahead of the visit of Wrexham.
Bannan will be missed for a plethora of reasons, and his experience, looking at Wednesday’s squad as it currently does, will arguably be the biggest trait that is missed for now. Thornton offered signs of promise over Christmas and New Year next to Bannan, offering the Owls a little bit of bite in midfield, but he is yet to be tested in a league game without him.
However, Pedersen has no choice but to come up with a solution, albeit in another difficult set of circumstances - and not for the first time this season.