Barry Bannan return talk grows as Sheffield Wednesday consider emotional reunion
Barry Bannan only left Sheffield Wednesday in January, but talk of a Hillsborough return is already gathering pace as the Owls begin shaping their new era under Arise Capital Partners.
According to reports from The Wednesday Word, internal discussions have taken place over the possibility of bringing Bannan back to S6 ahead of next season. GiveMeSport has also claimed that the club’s incoming football hierarchy are keen to explore a deal, with Simon Wilson expected to arrive as sporting director.
For Wednesday supporters, it is a story that will immediately command attention. Bannan spent more than a decade at Hillsborough, making 477 appearances before joining Millwall on an 18-month deal in January. His departure came during one of the bleakest periods in the club’s recent history, with Wednesday in administration, relegation looming and uncertainty hanging over the ownership situation.
Now, the landscape looks very different.
David Storch’s Arise consortium completed its takeover earlier this month, while the EFL confirmed that Wednesday would avoid a further 15-point deduction next season, albeit while remaining subject to budget restrictions for the next two campaigns. The mood around Hillsborough has shifted sharply, and the idea of Bannan returning as part of that rebuild would carry enormous symbolic weight.
There is also a suggestion that Bannan’s January exit was shaped by the ownership picture at the time. Journalist Alan Biggs wrote on X that, according to his sources, the midfielder had “little faith” in Wednesday’s then-preferred bidders and would likely have stayed had Arise already been in place.
Bannan’s connection with Wednesday was never in doubt. He stayed through relegation in 2021, helped drive the club back up through the League One play-offs in 2023, and remained one of the defining figures of the Chansiri era even as the wider operation around him began to unravel. A return under new ownership would feel less like a nostalgic gamble and more like unfinished business.
His spell at Millwall has not unfolded quite as many expected. Bannan signed in January as the Lions pushed for the Championship play-offs, but he made only six starts in 16 appearances before their season ended in semi-final defeat to Hull City. At 36, regular football will surely be a major consideration as he weighs up what comes next.
From Wednesday’s perspective, the football argument is more nuanced than the emotional one. The club must build a side capable of competing for promotion from League One, and that will require energy, athleticism and sensible long-term planning. Bannan alone cannot be the answer.
But he could still be part of it.
His last League One campaign brought seven goals and 13 assists in 2022/23, and his ability to dictate games at that level was obvious throughout the promotion season. Even if his role were slightly different now, Wednesday would be getting a player who understands the club, understands the demands of the division and would immediately raise standards around a squad set for major change.
Much will depend on the practicalities. Bannan remains under contract at Millwall, having signed until the summer of 2027, so any return would require an agreement between the clubs as well as the player. Wednesday’s budget restrictions will also shape what is possible, even though reports suggest we will not be operating under wage-cap figures that had been feared.
Still, the fact that this conversation is happening at all says plenty about the change in atmosphere at Hillsborough. A few months ago, Bannan’s exit felt like another painful marker of decline. Now, there is a realistic prospect that one of the club’s modern greats could return to help launch a new chapter.
Whether a deal can be done remains to be seen. But if Wednesday do decide to pursue it seriously, there will be no shortage of supporters hoping that Barry Bannan’s story at S6 still has one final act left to write.