Henrik Pedersen reveals the real reason why Barry Bannan is leaving Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen has revealed the reason why captain Barry Bannan is leaving Sheffield Wednesday for Millwall.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen has discussed club captain Barry Bannan's situation amid interest from Championship rivals Millwall.

Bannan has spent almost 11 years at Sheffield Wednesday since joining on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2015, but the club's current predicament means numerous players are departing in the current window.

Man United loanee Harry Amass has joined Norwich City instead, while Yisa Alao has moved to Chelsea. Bannan is one of the most experienced players in the division, but he could join that duo out of the exit door.

Only six players in the Championship have spent more time at a club than Bannan currently has with Wednesday: Dael Fry (Middlesbrough), Jay Fulton (Swansea City), Jack Stephens (Southampton), Sam Long (Oxford United), and Craig Forsyth (Derby County) are five of them.

The other is teammate Liam Palmer, who embraced Bannan in emotional full-time scenes against Bristol City. Motherwell and Hibernian have interest in the Scotsman, but he has also been attracting interest from the Championship via Millwall, Stoke City, and Preston North End.

Henrik Pedersen discusses Barry Bannan situation at Sheffield Wednesday

Bannan was visibly moved against Birmingham City as an exit drew nearer, despite the fact Bannan has previously stated his desire to remain at Wednesday for the remainder of his career. He even signed a new contract at Hillsborough in the summer on vastly reduced wages of around £7,000-a-week.

However, Millwall are reportedly set to give the 36-year-old an 18-month contract and a significant wage increase, making it a no-brainer for the Scot to make the switch to The Den at this stage of his career, with so few years left to play now.

Millwall emerged as front-runners to land Bannan's signature last week, but it was claimed on Saturday that the Lions were yet to make an official approach for Bannan and no permission had been granted for talks yet by Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite that, Bannan's move to The Den is now edging closer, with BBC Radio Sheffield journalist Rob Staton revealing that the Lions made a formal approach for the midfielder on Saturday evening, and the deal is due to be finalised at some stage this week.

Henrik Pedersen spoke regarding the situation via Radio 5 Live, as relayed by George Smith on X, who quoted the following: "It's awful. It's so tough for all the fans, it's so tough for all the players, all his friends, it's so tough for the staff, coaches all around."

He added: "But I think the person it's toughest for is Barry because we all know how much he loves our football club, how big a heart he has for this football club. But this whole situation, the circumstances, they are unsure for the future. It's been difficult for him."

Sheffield Wednesday won't receive a fee for Barry Bannan

The extra kick in the teeth is that the Owls are unlikely to receive a fee for their talismanic midfielder, with a verbal agreement believed to be in place to allow Bannan to leave on a free transfer to Millwall.

After an excellent career at Hillsborough, it's a sorry way for it all to end. Bannan is the kind of player fans want representing their club, given his longevity and commitment, as well as his sheer brilliance and consistency over the last 10+ years.

He will also leave a huge hole in the dressing room, which is also tough to take when you consider how young the vast majority of the squad is. There are only 13 other players over the age of 22 in this current Sheffield Wednesday side.