Sheffield Wednesday: Akin Famewo and Callum Paterson contract update revealed
Sheffield Wednesday duo Akin Famewo and Callum Paterson are still negotiating the deals they have been offered by the club.
Wednesday confirmed on Friday that seven members of their 2024/25 squad – Stuart Armstrong, Ben Hamer, Ryo Hatsuse, Michael Ihiekwe, Marvin Johnson, Pol Valentin and Mallik Wilks – will be released this summer when their deals expire. Loanees James Beadle, Ibrahim Cissoko and Shea Charles will go back to their parent clubs, but the Owls did make a few offers to try and retain players.
Barry Bannan, Famewo and Paterson have all been offered fresh terms prior to the expiration of their current deals. Bannan is reported to have agreed terms with the Owls with the deal expected to be announced sooner than later, as per The Star. He will join Anthony Musaba, Michael Smith and Josh Windass in next term’s team, after the trio had one-year extensions in their deals triggered by the club.
Sheffield Wednesday duo still negotiating over contract offer
For Famewo and Paterson, their future is slightly less certain. According to The Star, the pair are still in talks with Wednesday about the deals they have been offered. Crucially, both the 26-year-old and the 30-year-old are open to sticking around at Hillsborough.
Wednesday’s promotion to the Championship two seasons ago involved both players – the defender made 18 appearances while his multi-purpose teammate was a bit more involved, notching 36 caps across the 2022/23 campaign.
Paterson has been with the club since he was bought by the Owls in 2020 from Cardiff City for a reported fee of £500,000. Famewo, too, was a Wednesday purchase. The ex-Luton Town youngster came from Charlton Athletic for a tenth of the price that the Owls paid for the Scot.
As well as these two squad members, the future of Wednesday’s manager, Danny Rohl, is up in the air. He has been linked with Leicester City, Southampton and clubs in Germany amid suggestions from him that his time at Hillsborough may be up. The 36-year-old recently stated that he and owner Dejphon Chansiri over his future, but the club subsequently refuted his claims.
Danny Rohl hold up could have lasting effects on Sheffield Wednesday’s summer business
The next step for most EFL clubs at this point is to start assembling next season’s team. The trouble that Wednesday may have with their uncertain future is that it’s going to be hard to attract talent until people know what is going on with their manager’s situation.
And it’s not like we’re just waiting on Rohl to choose his next club: his options are potentially dwindling. The lack of stability at the top of the club won’t be good for anyone, and the domino effect may be felt right up until the end of the summer window if things drag on for a while longer.