Sheffield Wednesday’s week in Hungary has offered the clearest look so far at how Henrik Pedersen intends to shape his rebuilt squad.
The Owls have now left the Globall Hotel and training complex in Telki and moved on to Austria ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Stoke City. The trip has placed a strong emphasis on fitness, but it has also given Pedersen an extended opportunity to work on his playing style, bring a heavily changed group together and assess where further recruitment may be required.
There have also been updates on Barry Bannan’s return, the captaincy, Bruno Fernandes’ injury and the futures of several players who have spent pre-season around the squad.
This round-up draws on reporting and interviews from Joe Crann and The Wednesday Word, Alex Miller and The Star, the All Wednesday podcast and Sheffield Wednesday’s official channels.
A demanding week in Hungary
Nobody appears to have mistaken the trip for a pre-season holiday.
Wednesday returned to work earlier than usual this summer, and the programme in Telki was designed to build the physical base required for a long League One campaign. Double sessions and demanding drills left several players with heavy legs as the week progressed, although that was an expected consequence of the workload.
Coverage from the camp described Pedersen as a vocal and persistent presence on the training pitch, regularly communicating with his players and stepping in when the intensity began to fall.
That represents a welcome change from the conditions he inherited last season. Much of his first campaign was spent responding to injuries, squad shortages and events elsewhere in the club. This summer has given him greater scope to plan sessions around what he wants Wednesday to become.
The final session offered a lighter finish to the week, including a competitive head-tennis tournament. Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer and Liam Cooper defeated a coaching team featuring Andy Holdsworth, Giles Coke and Pete Shuttleworth.
The inevitable disagreements over decisions suggest the competitive edge survived even when the footballs were being headed over a net.
Pedersen sets out his approach
The camp has also provided a fuller explanation of how Pedersen wants Wednesday to play.
In an interview with The Wednesday Word, the head coach outlined his preference for a team that is comfortable in possession but willing to move the ball forward quickly when an opening appears. The intention is to avoid slow passing that allows opponents to settle into their defensive shape.
Positional organisation is another central part of the plan. Players need to know where they should be while Wednesday are building an attack and how they should react immediately after losing possession.
A well-organised shape should allow the Owls to press quickly, recover the ball higher up the pitch and attack again before their opponents can regroup.
It is an approach that should suit a side expected to spend long periods facing compact League One defences. Wednesday will need to move opponents around, but possession must eventually lead somewhere.
The more difficult part will be developing that understanding across a squad containing so many new and returning players. Patterns of play can be introduced on the training ground, but the timing and instinct required to make them effective will take longer to develop.
A proper opportunity for Pedersen
Pedersen also used his interview to dismiss suggestions that he might have considered leaving during last season’s turmoil.
He regarded the circumstances as an extraordinary professional challenge and believes the adversity helped build stronger relationships between the players, staff and fans.
A departure was never under serious consideration.
The coming campaign should offer a more balanced assessment of his work. Last season’s squad was depleted, senior options were limited and younger players frequently had to accept responsibilities earlier than anyone would have planned.
Results will still determine how Pedersen is judged, but he will begin this season with a squad assembled more closely around his own ideas and a club capable of supporting recruitment.
For the first time, the discussion can focus primarily on his coaching rather than the crisis surrounding it.
Bannan gives Pedersen his backing
Barry Bannan’s return has brought one of the strongest endorsements of Pedersen’s work.
The midfielder believes the head coach always had a clear playing philosophy but lacked the squad required to implement it consistently. In his view, last season’s results provided an incomplete picture of Pedersen’s ability because the manager and his players were working under severe restrictions.
Bannan was particularly complimentary about the way Pedersen kept the dressing room engaged when problems away from the pitch could easily have affected standards.
His assessment is valuable because he experienced the situation from inside the group. He has also worked under enough managers during his career to recognise whether a coach retains the trust of senior players.
Those covering the camp also observed a more relaxed Bannan than the one who carried such a heavy burden during the worst months of last season. His return allows him to concentrate on football and leadership without feeling responsible for holding together every part of the club.
The Wednesday Word’s coverage of Bannan’s return previously reported that the midfielder signed a one-year deal after his short spell with Millwall.
Palmer keeps the armband
Liam Palmer will remain Wednesday captain, with Bannan returning to the vice-captaincy.
The arrangement preserves the role Palmer accepted last season while bringing Bannan back into the formal leadership structure.
Palmer’s connection with Wednesday, his experience and the respect he commands within the club make him a natural choice to continue. Bannan has also made clear that he does not need the armband to be vocal on the training pitch, in the dressing room or during matches.
Pedersen therefore has two long-serving senior figures at the centre of his leadership group, with Liam Cooper and other experienced players also available to support them.
That continuity should help a squad containing numerous new arrivals settle more quickly.
Bannan prepares for an emotional Hillsborough return
Bannan’s return has also been a significant event for his family.
He explained that his daughter Elsie cried when she learned that an agreement had been reached, before making clear that they were tears of happiness. Wednesday has been part of her life throughout her childhood, and Bannan’s initial departure had appeared to close that chapter.
The midfielder also felt that his age made the move away from Hillsborough seem final, which added to the emotion surrounding his last appearance before joining Millwall.
He now has the unexpected prospect of walking out at Hillsborough in a Wednesday shirt once again.
How he responds in the moment remains uncertain, but his excitement at playing in front of the fans again is obvious.
Fernandes facing an extended absence
The major setback from the week concerns Bruno Fernandes.
Pedersen confirmed that the young midfielder has undergone surgery and is expected to be unavailable for around four months. Reporting from the camp indicated that the injury involved his hamstring and required an operation similar to the one previously undergone by George Brown.
It is a difficult interruption for a player trying to establish himself within the senior squad, particularly after previous injury problems.
There was better news regarding Liam Cooper, Ricardo Santos and Di’Shon Bernard, who have increased their work on the grass while continuing their recoveries. None is expected to feature against Stoke, but their gradual return should give Pedersen more defensive options as the season approaches.
The club’s May retained list confirmed that Fernandes and Cooper had been offered new contracts, while Palmer’s option was exercised.
Recruitment work continues
Wednesday’s summer business is not complete.
Pedersen has rejected suggestions that the club might still need more than ten signings, although he acknowledged that several further additions remain under consideration.
The precise number will depend on the development of the current squad and the opportunities that become available before the window closes.
Wednesday are also reported to have maintained their interest in Tommy O’Reilly.
Nathaniel Chalobah is another player under consideration after training with the squad and featuring in two behind-closed-doors friendlies. Discussions have taken place over a possible return, but reports have stressed that the situation has not reached an advanced stage.
Chalobah’s ability was evident during the final weeks of last season, when he produced some of his best performances for the club. His availability was less reliable, and any decision will need to take account of an injury record that restricted him to 31 appearances across two seasons.
The retained list initially confirmed that he would leave at the end of his previous contract, so any return would require a new agreement rather than an extension of the old one.
Dawson remains with the group
Cameron Dawson has also spent pre-season around the first team and travelled to Central Europe as the only non-contracted player in the touring squad.
The Wednesday Word’s travelling-squad report listed Dawson alongside Joe Lumley and Jack Phillips, while confirming that he remained outside the contracted group.
Lumley has already joined Wednesday, but Pedersen may still decide that another goalkeeper is required.
Dawson offers substantial EFL experience and is understood to have made a positive contribution around the squad. Those qualities may help his case, although there has been no indication that a final decision has been reached.
Wanya Marçal will not be joining Wednesday. The former Leicester City youngster spent part of pre-season training with the club, but his involvement has ended and he will continue looking for another opportunity.
Storch joins the camp
David Storch travelled to the camp to observe Pedersen’s work and meet players, coaches and staff around the training base.
He was accompanied by his wife, while Michael Storch, David Bruce, Simon Wilson and Oscar Chamberlain were also present before the party moved on to Austria.
The visit gave the club’s senior figures an opportunity to see the football operation at close quarters while discussing recruitment and the wider structure being developed behind the scenes.
Wednesday’s previous ownership became increasingly removed from the daily operation of the club. The new group’s willingness to spend time around the squad provides a welcome contrast, although supporters will ultimately judge the ownership by the decisions that follow.
Bruce appointed to the board
The trip coincided with Sheffield Wednesday confirming David Bruce’s appointment to the board of Wednesday 1867 Limited.
Bruce joins chairman David Storch and non-executive directors Michael Storch and Tom Costin.
The appointment is another step in rebuilding a leadership structure that had become too dependent on one individual. Further additions may follow as responsibilities across the football and commercial operation become more clearly defined.
Bruce’s presence in Hungary also suggests that the new board intends to maintain regular contact with Pedersen, the recruitment team and the playing squad.
Lowe encouraged by the developing group
Max Lowe has spoken positively about the atmosphere within the rebuilt squad.
In an interview published through the club’s official channels, he explained that the players were already getting along well and expected the group to become stronger as the season progressed.
The camp should have helped that process. Established players and new arrivals have spent several days together away from Hillsborough, sharing training sessions, meals and downtime.
Those experiences cannot guarantee results, but they can help new players settle and allow relationships to develop more quickly than they might during an ordinary week at the training ground.
For a squad undergoing this level of change, that time together has been useful.
Stoke provide the next test
Wednesday have now travelled from Hungary to Austria ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Stoke City.
The game kicks off at 1:00pm UK time and will be played over two 70-minute periods behind closed doors. Match passes are available through Sheffield Wednesday for supporters who want to stream the fixture.
Pedersen will use the extended format to distribute minutes and assess how the training work transfers into a match environment.
Fitness remains the main consideration, and firm conclusions should not be drawn from a pre-season game played under unusual conditions. Even so, the fixture should provide useful evidence of Wednesday’s shape, pressing and willingness to move the ball forward.
The squad is not complete, several defenders are still returning from injury and further decisions must be made before the season begins.
For now, Wednesday appear to be moving through pre-season with greater organisation, clearer coaching objectives and a squad that is gradually coming together. Saturday’s game should show how far that work has progressed.