Sheffield Wednesday announced that Darren Purse will Captain the team for the forthcoming season and the 32-year-old wore the armband for the first time as the Owls kicked off their pre-season matches in Malta on Monday.
The summer signing has a wealth of experience having previously captained former clubs Birmingham and more recently Cardiff and he replaces Richard Wood as the leader of the Wednesday team on the pitch.
Manager Brian Laws expressed on the Owls official website, www.swfc.co.uk that Wood was understandably disappointed at relinquishing the role but did state that he views him as a future Wednesday captain and believes that the decision will allow Wood to develop more as a player and learn from the more experienced player.
The move will not come as a great surprise to Wednesday fans but could well lead to increased speculation about Wood's future.
A product of the Owls academy, Wood is Wednesday's current longest serving player and was made first team captain last season, with the now departed more experienced Steve Watson acting as club captain.
However, shortly after he was made skipper Wood handed in a transfer request as rumours were rife of transfer interest from fellow Championship teams Birmingham and Coventry City. Some sections of the support were disappointed at Wood's head being turned by in Coventry's case, a team of a similar stature so soon after being given the honour of leading the side. Such rumours have continued to bubble and are likely to resurface given this latest development.