What Barry Bannan said when he first joined Sheffield Wednesday - He's literally not looked back since | OneFootball

We looked back at midfielder Barry Bannan's first words after joining Sheffield Wednesday as he closes in on 10 years at the club.

It is fair to say that midfielder Barry Bannan has become something of a club legend at Sheffield Wednesday over the past decade.

Bannan joined Wednesday on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2015 as part of a major rebuild under new manager Carlos Carvalhal, and few could have predicted the impact he would go on to make at the club.

Having featured almost 450 times for the Owls, Bannan is now in the top 10 of the club's all-time record appearance makers, meaning that he will forever be assured of a place in the history books.

Bannan is out of contract at the end of the season, giving Wednesday a big decision to make over his future, and with plenty of uncertainty over the future of manager Danny Rohl amid reported interest from Southampton, Leicester City and RB Leipzig, the Scot could be facing an anxious wait to find out whether he will be offered an extension.

Ahead of what could potentially be Bannan's final few weeks in South Yorkshire, we looked back at his first words after completing his move to the club and how he has fared since.

Barry Bannan has certainly achieved Sheffield Wednesday ambition

Bannan came through the Aston Villa academy, and he went on to make 82 appearances for the Midlands outfit, as well as having spells on loan at Derby County, Blackpool and Leeds United before making a permanent move to Crystal Palace in September 2013.

The midfielder worked with then Eagles manager Ian Holloway during his temporary stint at Bloomfield Road, so the move to Selhurst Park looked like a sensible one, but he fell out of favour after the arrival of Tony Pulis.

Having made just 10 appearances for Palace in the first half of the 2014-15 season, Bannan was loaned out to Championship side Bolton Wanderers in the January transfer window, and his career looked to be at something of a crossroads after returning from his time in Lancashire.

However, Bannan's fortunes then changed as he completed the switch to Wednesday in August 2015, and posting on social media, he revealed that he was looking forward to playing regular football again after his frustrating spell with the Eagles.

Bannan certainly got his wish of guaranteed game time, and he became an integral part of the team as the Owls reached the play-offs for two consecutive seasons under Carvalhal, but they suffered heartbreak on both occasions, first losing to Hull City in the final at Wembley before being beaten by Huddersfield Town at the semi-final stage the following year.

That would prove to be the peak of Bannan's time at Wednesday as they gradually fell down the Championship table over the following seasons, and the club's place in the second tier came under severe threat when they were hit with a 12-point deduction ahead of the 2020-21 campaign for breaching spending rules.

Bannan had the chance to escape the chaos at Hillsborough when Brentford made an offer for him in the summer of 2020, but he turned down the opportunity to join Thomas Frank's promotion-chasing side in order to remain with the Owls, and he was subsequently handed the captain's armband by Garry Monk.

Despite having their deduction reduced down to six points, Wednesday were unable to beat the drop, but even though he was widely considered to be far too good for League One, Bannan again remained loyal to the club, and he later confirmed that his salary had halved following relegation.

Bannan achieved his ambition of leading the Owls back to the Championship at the second attempt as they beat Barnsley in the play-off final in 2023, and he also helped his side to the most unlikely survival in the second tier last season after a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl.

Having emerged as surprise play-off contenders after a strong start to this season, Wednesday are set for an underwhelming mid-table finish after a poor second half of the campaign, but despite now being 35 years of age, Bannan has continued to show his quality.

Barry Bannan opens up on Sheffield Wednesday future

With his contract set to expire, Bannan said that he is not concerned that he has not yet been offered an extension by Wednesday, insisting that his focus remains on performing until the end of the season.

"I feel fine about it," Bannan told The Star last month.

"My job is to play week-in, week-out for this club and to concentrate on the games. I’ve always found that when I’ve been in my last year before, if you go out and do the business out on the pitch then the likelihood is that you’ll get rewarded at the end of the season.

"I know the chairman very well now and you don’t tend to get new contracts during the season, it’s obviously dealt with at the end of the season when the job is done, so I feel fine. A lot of people worry about getting injured or whatever but it’s football. I’ve been around it long enough to know that I just have to concentrate and perform until the end of the season."

However, Bannan has previously stated that he would like to remain with the Owls for the rest of his career, and regardless of who is in charge at Hillsborough next season, it seems likely that the club will be keen to keep hold of him for at least another year.