Sheffield Wednesday’s influential Scottish midfielder Barry Bannan has confirmed there is no clause in his contract that allows him to leave the club if the Owls are relegated.
The club are on the verge of a return to League One for the first time since 2011-12 after a dismal season and sit 23rd in the Championship table.
In a press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, Bannan remained committed to the club.
Bannan said: “My goal is to keep the team in the league and stay for the two years. If we get relegated then it’ll be down to the club to decide how they’re going to deal with things next season.
“But I’ve signed for two years, and I want to honour those two years. Whatever happens, happens, but my main goal is to win the next two games and keep the team in the Championship – then to still be here and leading the team in the Championship in hopefully a better season than this.”
Despite a difficult season for the club Bannan has managed to record six assists and two goals for the club.
Owls supporter and contributor to The Wednesday Week fans’ podcast Ben Woodcock said it’s imperative for the club to keep hold of Bannan if they suffer relegation.
Woodcock said: “It’s vital that we keep Barry Bannan. Let’s be honest he’s the best player at the club by a long chalk, and he has been for a number of years now.
“You can tell this season his frustrations have grown as those around him clearly aren’t on his wavelength.”
Despite this Woodcock believes the club will struggle to hold onto their prized asset if they do drop down to League One.
Woodcock said: “He’s been a victim of his own quality at times, people expect 10 out of 10 performances from him every week because of how much we rely on him.
“I still think we’d struggle to hold onto him if we went down. He’s a top class Championship player. Someone of his ability can’t afford to waste the final peak years of their career in League One.”