"Very, very important" - Contract priority highlighted for Danny Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Our FLW Fan Pundit believes resolving this contract issue will be important for the Owls next season

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

The mid-season heroics of manager Danny Rohl has given Sheffield Wednesday another Championship battle to fight next term, but there are still some squad issues to iron out.

One such issue is the future of Di'Shon Bernard at Hillsborough, who joined the Owls on a one-year deal following his release from Manchester United last summer.

He became a key figure in the Yorkshire club's defensive unit, making his renewal an important order of business.

Our Sheffield Wednesday Fan Pundit, Callum, has delivered his verdict on the matter.

The FLW Fan Pundit believes that Bernard proved his importance to Rohl's style of football last season and is keen to see the defender's time with the club extended this summer.

Speaking to Football League World, Callum said: “The thing with Bernard is, it’s a difficult one. It’s the same with Iorfa really because we didn’t see him linked with anyone. And then all of a sudden he signed a contract.

“So it’s different, in the sense of; I haven’t seen him linked with anyone really. There’s been some reported interest, but no firm interest and no offers made, I think, is the best way to describe it.

“Obviously, I don’t know the ins and outs of his situation but it could be one of those things that just happens or doesn’t happen, really. “But I think he would be a very important player next season. He thrived playing that type of football that Danny Rohl plays and if we can get him in, as well as Iorfa and Windass and Palmer and Bannon, then that’ll be very, very important for us going forward next season.

“You’ve got to have versatility in a number of different positions and I think that Bernard plays that kind of centre-half-pushing-into-midfield role which we really need to make the team and the style of play work.”

Owls should target a multi-year deal this time around

Bernard made 32 Championship appearances for the Owls last term, 30 of which were starts, so there is little doubt about how much the club relied on his service.

Seeing him leave the club on a free would mean using up resources for a replacement that would be better utilised in other areas of the squad, so the negotiations are important both for the defensive unit next season and also as part of the bigger picture.

The reason for the current negotiations hitting a delay has not been publicly revealed, but Wednesday would be wise to try and hold out for a multi-year deal for Bernard.

He has already shown what he is capable of at this level and, at 23 years old, logic would suggest there's still room to improve. Tying him down for longer than a year would prevent the club from being thrown into this same scenario 12 months down the line, but would also bring the bonus of potentially commanding a decent transfer fee should he kick on next term.

Having brought him in on a free transfer last season, it could be a lucrative deal for the Owls.

From Bernard's point of view, he has found a club at a good level that trusts him to be a key member of the squad. For a defender at his age, that's not something that should be taken for granted, and it should not be presumed that he would immediately find the same treatment if he did move elsewhere.

A deal looks there to be made, and both parties should do what they can to make it happen.

As Callum said, Bernard will be vital for Rohl's strategy next season. Once this saga is concluded, greater attention can be focused on squad upgrades to hopefully lift the Owls away from another relegation fight.