Sheffield Wednesday: Potential Barry Bannan situation is "absolute disaster" amid Dejphon Chansiri "incompetence" | OneFootball

Bannan's contract is set to expire at the end of the month, and Wednesday's current issues may prevent him from staying

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri's issues with paying the players and staff of the club for the month of May could prove disastrous when it comes to retaining some of the key individuals on the pitch at Hillsborough.

For the second time in three months, salaries did not come on time last week, leaving many at the club out of pocket, and at the time of writing on Friday June 6, the issues were yet to be resolved.

Chansiri's continued failure to pay the wages is set to bring more issues to the club, and one of them could be trying to get out of contract players to renew their deals - namely Barry Bannan.

Sheffield Wednesday losing Barry Bannan would be "disastrous"

As per the Sheffield Star, the EFL may choose to reject the registration of players whose contracts need extending beyond the end of June, with Barry Bannan one of those that have been in negotiations with the Owls hierarchy over a new deal.

The 35-year-old continues to be timeless for the Owls, playing 41 times in the Championship in 2024-25 with nine goal contributions, yet because of the current situation at Hillsborough, there is a big chance that he may not even be able to renew his deal at the club.

And in the eyes of FLW's Wednesday fan pundit Patrick McKenna, it would be a huge "blow" should the Scottish midfielder not be able to end his stay at the club - which is currently 10 years - on his own terms, with Dejphon Chansiri's "incompetence" laid bare.

"The fact that Barry Bannan and other players may not be able to sign because of the absolute debacle around the club, I think it really hammers home the reality of the dire situation the club is in, and in-fact it might wake up some fans to what consequences are and how serious and perilous the situation is to the immediate future of the club,"

"We mention Barry Bannan, but as well as players not being able to sign, players may want away or could even go on strike if they're not paid and there's no guarantee that in the months after they'll be paid.

"So, come the start of the season, what sort of team can we field? If this was how Barry Bannan's time at Sheffield Wednesday ended, it would be an absolute disaster, and a massive, massive blow.

"The man is a legend and he has given so much to the club, and he's stayed on previously when we got relegated - now, it just may not be possible for him to stay, and for a man like Bannan, he always should be able to end things on his own terms here when he wants to go, and I always got the impression he'd want to stay on and do some coaching at the club.

"The optics of Barry Bannan not being able to stay at Wednesday due to the unbelievable incompetence of one man, it would be a sorry chapter in the history of Sheffield Wednesday.

"As I said, it's a really dire situation, but it is the reality and it's something that we are going to have to face up to as a fanbase.

"So yeah, I really, really hope it doesn't happen, but if this was to be how the Bannan era ended at Wednesday, it would be dreadful and I would be very disappointed, but in no way would it be on Barry Bannan."

Sheffield Wednesday cannot lose Barry Bannan - he's too valuable to the club despite his age

Bannan at the age of 35 will not hold much transfer value anymore, but what he brings on the pitch in his advancing years is greater that what they could recoup.

The mercurial Scotsman proved last season that age is just a number as he was part of a side that saw the Owls climb up the Championship table and in to 12th position - a far cry from the previous season's relegation battle.