"Special player" - Sheffield Wednesday praised for victory over Stoke City, Derby County and others | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit is delighted that Josh Windass has extended his stay, despite the injury concerns surrounding the 30-year-old.

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 have retained the services of Josh Windass after the forward signed a contract extension to extend his stay at Hillsborough and end the speculation regarding his future.

The Owls confirmed on their official website that Windass has agreed a new contract with the South Yorkshire outfit. They are looking to build on a successful period under Danny Röhl, after the German masterminded one of the great second tier relegation escapes after taking charge in October.

They will be hoping for stability in the long-term future after a turbulent period for the club, but could have been going into next season without one of their better performers in recent years.

There remained a large question mark over where Windass would be playing his football in 2024/25. Several clubs in the Championship and MLS have been mooted as potential destinations for the 30-year-old since January.

Derby County and Stoke City are both said to have been interested in Windass, while it was claimed earlier last month that Coventry City and Hull City were leading the race for the forward. They all faced competition from Birmingham City and the likes of West Brom as well.

The verdict on Josh Windass' new contract

Losing Windass would have made Röhl's job of constructing a team that can continue to progress up the Championship table even harder. At one stage, those contract talks looked to have stalled and, according to The Star, it was "looking increasingly unlikely" that Windass would remain at Hillsborough.

However, the 30-year-old has put the speculation to bed by signing a new contract with Wednesday, although no official length on the deal has been confirmed. We asked our Football League World Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Callum Maxted what his thoughts are on Windass' extension.

He said: "The injury record of Josh Windass is a slight concern, but if you have players that can cover that position, then the more the merrier, really.

"I personally think you can't replace the quality he has as a footballer in any way with whatever contract we have offered him, really.

"I think it's hard to replace that kind of quality with someone like him. He is Championship standard. It's the same with Barry Bannan and the same with Windass. "Dominic Iorfa recently - all of these core players that have got Championship experience who can be the core of the team and help push this team to where it wants to go. "I think that Windass is a special player. I've always thought that.

"Even if he only plays 20 games and then someone else plays the other 20 games, you're going to quality out of him for those games."

Josh Windass' importance to Sheffield Wednesday

Windass is a good player at Championship level when fit, but he struggles with fitness for sustained periods, as Maxted alludes to.

Wednesday. have been busy in the market so far, and the addition of Jamal Lowe will certainly have eased concerns surrounding Windass. The versatile forward can operate as a left-sided forward or as a striker in a two-man attack.

That's much like Windass, and having more rotation could help prolong Windass' career with the Owls, as opposed to being as reliant on him as they have been in recent years.