Henrik Pedersen reveals "strange" Barry Bannan situation at Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

The club captain has signed a new deal with the Owls, but that might not make him eligible to face the Foxes this weekend.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has said that he is unsure whether Barry Bannan will be allowed to play on Sunday against Leicester City.

The former Scottish international displayed his unwavering commitment to the club when he agreed a new deal despite the ongoing financial turmoil at Hillsborough that has led to many of his teammates not being their wages over recent months.

His new deal with the Owls was confirmed last Saturday, but, despite the overwhelmingly positive reaction to it by the club's supporters, there's a chance that he may not be able to play for the club.

Wednesday are currently under two embargoes from the EFL: the aforementioned non-payment of players, plus the non-payment of transfer fees. They have also been banned from paying fees for transfers or as part of loan deals, until the summer of 2027, as was confirmed in an EFL statement on Wednesday evening.

These embargoes are in place to stop the likes of the Owls from: "strengthening its team or adding to its playing staff costs until such time as it has met its existing financial obligations and/or the Club has rectified the relevant breach of EFL regulation(s)."

Clubs are allowed to offer contracts to players while under an embargo, but that is subject to the circumstances of the club and will be "determined" by the EFL.

Barry Bannan's Sheffield Wednesday availability uncertain for Leicester fixture

It's not clear to many people whether this means that Bannan will be allowed to represent Wednesday against Leicester this weekend, although The Star have reported that there is growing optimism that he will be able to. Pedersen, Wednesday's new boss, said that he didn't know either.

"Nope," said the Dane, via the BBC, when quizzed on the Scottish midfielder's availability for the trip to the King Power Stadium. "Right now people in the club are trying to find out what is up and down with the situation, but right now I don't know."

"Of course it's a strange situation, but I hope that we can get clarity very, very soon, and that we know something more before we have the session tomorrow morning."

Sheffield Wednesday can't expect much from Sunday, with or without Barry Bannan

Regardless of if Bannan is permitted to play or not, the Owls will be seriously overmatched against the former Premier League champions on Sunday. His official return to the club's books only bumped their first-team squad numbers up to 16, one of whom, Max Lowe, is known to have handed in his notice to the club after two months of not receiving his owed wages.

It's going to be extremely tough for Pedersen and his players to salvage anything from this season, but they at least have members like Bannan who will stick by the club even amid such a crisis.