"It just gets worse and worse" - Sheffield Wednesday player exit looming | OneFootball

FLW's Owls fan pundit has weighed in with his opinion as yet another senior player looks ready to depart Hillsborough

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 situation at Sheffield Wednesday is getting bleaker week by week. There's no two ways about it.

A mass exodus of senior players has taken place over the summer. Whilst the Owls were able to make around £2.5 million on Djeidi Gassama, as he was sold to Rangers, the likes of Akin Famewo, Josh Windass, Callum Paterson, Michael Smith, Michael Ikiekwe, and others have all departed Hillsborough for free. Now, Max Lowe looks to be the next to leave the club.

Dejphon Chansiri once again failed to pay his players on time for the third successive month in July, and the ongoing uncertainty led Lowe to hand in his notice, meaning that he will leave Wednesday before August 15th.

Across the 2024/25 season, Lowe became one of the regulars within Danny Röhl's side, following his switch from Steel City rivals, Sheffield United, and his departure is one more gut punch to Owls fans ahead of this Sunday's Championship opener against Leicester City.

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit, Patrick McKenna, believes that this departure is a big blow, but stresses that any senior player to leave is, as the Owls stand in no stead to replace them with anyone but an inexperienced youth player.

Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit comments on Max Lowe's imminent departure

A deflated McKenna spoke to Football League World regarding Lowe's notice being handed in.

"With more player departures, it gets worse and worse," he said.

"With Max Lowe, it doesn't matter how good he was last season. He could have been our best player or our worst player. We're just shedding more senior players, and there's no way for us to bring in any replacements.

"The situation is getting more farcical now, we're barely going to have any senior players left."

Wednesday are currently unable to pay transfer fees for players in the next three windows due to an embargo placed on them for late payments.

On Lowe, McKenna continued, "It doesn't matter how good he was last season, but he actually ended up being one of our better players last year after a shaky start.

"I'd say he was one of our key defenders, and now he's gone, with his place being taken by a youth player. It really is a reminder of how serious things are at the club.

"It's unprecedented, really, seeing all the players handing in their notice, leaving us with a threadbare squad, and we won't even be getting any money for him."

Last season, Lowe played 34 league games for the Owls, which included a run of 25 consecutive Championship starts before his season-ending knee injury in March's Steel City derby match against Sheffield United.

"It simply cannot go on," McKenna concluded.

"If Chansiri doesn't sell, then every month there are going to be more issues with wages, and every player who leaves is a massive blow.

"The situation at Wednesday is hurtling towards a very scary conclusion."

Change must happen soon at Sheffield Wednesday

On the field, this season is looking more and more like a write-off for Sheffield Wednesday, as it's growing increasingly impossible for Henrik Pedersen to build a squad capable of competing. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that Owls fans have a club to support in the near future.

Wednesday fans have planned a 'late to your seat protest' for this Sunday's game at Leicester City. But that's even if the game goes ahead, with the club's financial uncertainty potentially leading the players to refuse to play, like they did for a recent pre-season friendly against Barnsley.

Either way, something needs to happen, and quickly. Sheffield Wednesday is a club with a rich history, and its future looks incredibly uncertain.

For the short term, Wednesday fans will be hoping that Lowe is the only one who hands in his notice, but the harsh reality is that he might be the first of many of the remaining senior players to leave the club shortly.