Harry Gray footage drops big hint high-profile player has left Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are based at St George's Park for the next leg of pre-season, but new arrivals have hinted at possible departures elsewhere

Sheffield Wednesday continued their preparation for their League One return by heading down to St George's Park for the third week of pre-season.

Henrik Pedersen's side have been hard at work for a little longer than is usually the case before they head down to the elite facilities in Burton upon Trent, as the Danish boss looks to set the standards as a new era dawns at Hillsborough.

Several familiar faces have been joined by new ones, with some of the earlier signings of the window, Callum Slattery, Jordi Liongola and Harry Gray, beginning their pre-season alongside their new teammates. Those three, plus the rest of the squad (and even Barry Bannan), were all captured on the club's 'Inside Training' on their YouTube channel.

However, one new signing in particular has given Wednesday fans a big hint that a former Premier League player currently in their squad may be leaving ahead of the third-tier campaign.

Harry Gray's new number hints at Yan Valery departure

Action Images

The Inside Training footage reveals the potential new numbers for the recent arrivals at Hillsborough.

Slattery was seen wearing number eight, recently vacated by Svante Inglesson's departure; Liongola wore 23, which was registered to youngster Gui Siqueira last season, and Gray was wearing number seven.

Interestingly, Yan Valery wore number seven last season, and the fact that it is seemingly no longer the case has some fans fearing that what seemed like an inevitable departure this summer will definitely happen.

Valery wasn't seen in training, but given his involvement in the World Cup this summer with Tunisia, where he started every game in their group stage exit, that's to be expected. But it may be likely that he won't be seen with the group at all this pre-season.

The Sheffield Star reported towards the end of June that the Tunisian defender is set to leave Hillsborough this summer, as he enters the final year of his Owls contract. Sheffield Wednesday are hopeful that they can get a decent fee for the 27-year-old, who cost them £400,000 in the summer of 2024.

He spent the latter half of the 2025/26 season on loan at Young Boys, after making 23 Championship appearances in the opening stages.

Keeping Yan Valery in League One was always wishful thinking for Sheffield Wednesday

Action Images

While Valery was never first choice after coming through the Southampton academy in 2018, he still racked up a good handful of Premier League appearances and was a useful squad player for a few years.

Then, after playing in both of the top two divisions of France, he made the switch back to England and played a key role in the mid-table finish Wednesday achieved under Danny Rohl two seasons ago.

The 27-year-old was one of the few players who stuck things out during the final few months of the Dejphon Chansiri reign, and that, plus some strong performances across the 18 months he spent at Hillsborough, would have had Wednesday fans hopeful of him sticking around for League One.

Valery would immediately be amongst the best defenders in the division, given his age and previous experience, but it seems like he's ready to continue testing himself at a club higher than the English third tier.

It's a reminder that, even with a threadbare senior squad heading into pre-season, there'd still be departures at Hillsborough this summer. The new higher-ups at Sheffield Wednesday had a big job on their hands to bolster the squad as it was, and now it seems a new versatile defender will be on their shopping list, too.