Barry Bannan, Jamie Vardy, Callum Paterson: Are Sheffield Wednesday getting it wrong? | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday have been linked with some veterans who have prior relations with the club, but is that the right way to go?

The Arise ownership group are hitting all the right notes so far at Sheffield Wednesday when it comes to getting Owls fans excited about the new season.

Wednesday may be beginning life back in League One in August, but they're doing so with fresh direction, new ideas and roles at the board level that former owner Dejphon Chansiri didn't even utilise and a newfound optimism that has escaped Hillsborough over the past eight or so years.

However, this new era at Sheffield Wednesday may have a few stars from yesteryear amongst it, too.

A return for club legend Barry Bannan has been atop Owls' fans' summer wishlist ever since the takeover was announced on May 2. While the club have outlined him as a potential incoming, an announcement of a completed deal is still a long way away.

Then, there's been the murmurs over the possibility of lifelong Wednesday fan Jamie Vardy returning to England to make a long-awaited senior debut for the Owls after being in their academy over 20 years ago.

Now, Callum Paterson is being mooted for a move back to Hillsborough, a year after he was part of the mass exodus of players who left the club in the wake of contract breaches and general mismanagement from Chansiri.

Should Sheffield Wednesday be leaning on veteran nostalgia so much in the transfer window?

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Bannan and Paterson played key roles in the Wednesday fold during the Chansiri era, and were part of the Owls squad under Darren Moore, who were promoted to the Championship back in 2023.

Evidently, they are popular players, as is Vardy who, even without making a senior appearance for Sheffield Wednesday, would antagonise Sheffield United fans whenever he scored against them for Leicester City during both their times in the Premier League.

However, on the base of things, that's a 36-year-old, a 39-year-old and a 31-year-old who turns 32 in the first few months of the 2026/27 campaign who have been rumoured about moves to Hillsborough this summer.

It's no secret that Sheffield Wednesday need a plethora of new additions ahead of next season. Per a depth chart released by the Sheffield Star in the wake of their retained list, the Owls only have 16 contracted outfield players who have made a senior appearance for the club, and some of those only made appearances due to their threadbare status last season.

However, amongst those 16 players are 34-year-old Liam Palmer, another Owls legend, and Jamal Lowe, who turns 32 in July. Liam Cooper, who turns 35 in August, is growing increasingly likely to extend his deal, too.

Whether Wednesday fans feel they're good enough is a different question, but the fact is, some of the veteran players who can guide younger ones are already at the club.

Looking at successful League One teams from last year, Lincoln City were promoted with several veterans, but fellow promoted side Bolton Wanderers only had three outfielders over the age of 30, and Cardiff City had two. Stockport County, who lost in the play-off final, also had three.

New Wednesday CEO David Bruce has spoken recently about building for the medium and the long term at Sheffield Wednesday. While bringing in popular players in their 30s will build positivity among the fanbase in the early stages of their reign, they'll need to balance that with some players hitting their prime years and some budding stars, too.

Veteran arrivals should make sense if they're good enough for a League One promotion push

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The main question that surrounds these murmurs about players returning to Sheffield Wednesday should be: If they weren't former players, would they be interested in bringing them to the club?

Arguably, from a business point, the answer to all of those would be no, regardless of how fans feel about how good either Bannan, Vardy or Paterson are, as they wouldn't present an opportunity to make a profit in the future.

But, in terms of quality, Vardy has just come off the back of a 7-goal campaign in Serie A, so would still cut it in the English third tier. Bannan's passing accuracy and control of games would make him a suitable midfielder at the level, too, like Oliver Norwood is at Stockport.

Paterson would raise some questions, though, even off the back of a 16-goal campaign in League Two last season. He was reliable, but not a regular starter in his final few years at Hillsborough, so bringing him back could see the club either stagnate, or even regress slightly.

It's a good point for debate, and if Wednesday can level things out with some young talents, too, such as Kyreece Lisbie for example, who they have an interest in, as exclusively reported by Football League World, then it would take some of the outside negativity away from signing purely veteran heads. And that's not to say they aren't going to; the window's still in its infancy.