Wednesday players wanted
Two of Sheffield Wednesday's best performers are being courted by other clubs, if rumours in the national press are to be believed.
The latest link doing the rounds is that new Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is interested in taking Wednesday's midfield maestro Barry Bannan back to Villa Park. The Scottish international has been a mainstay of the Owls side since joining the club in 2015 and he recently signed a new deal at Hillsborough. The 28-year-old was sorely missed when injured last season and the results of the team improved markedly when he returned to the side towards the end of the campaign. Despite the team making an indifferent start to this season Bannan is once again regularly one of the best performers game in, game out.
Dean Smith has not had much of a honeymoon period to start his tenure at Villa Park, since replacing Steve Bruce as boss, losing tow of his first three games. While it is no surprise that clubs are showing an interest in Bannan, the £8M fee touted in the press would surely be just a starting point for negotiations in todays inflated market and although times have changed, Bannan didn't have the best of times throughout his 5-year spell with Villa.
Another player gaining plaudits is Adam Reach. The former Middlesbrough midfielder has had a fantastic start to the season considering the Owls average form and he is providing assists and scoring goals aplenty, most of which have been goal of the season contenders. Premier League Wolves have been said to be showing interest with a fee in excess of £10M put out there for debate.
Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri has shown a reluctance to sell his best players to date but the club experienced financial pressures in the form of an embargo in the summer. If they are to avoid being in a similar position next year then they are likely to need to generate some significant income and so lucrative offers in the January window may well test their resolve.