What shirt number Barry Bannan wants if he returns to Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

The Owls cult hero has been heavily linked with a return to S6

It is nigh on impossible to think of Sheffield Wednesday's recent history without referencing the midfield qualities of Barry Bannan.

The Owls' previous 25 years or so, on the whole, have been extremely turbulent, as they have often bounced between the Championship and League One without rarely looking as though they would end a lengthy exile from the Premier League.

That is despite, on several occasions, having players such as the technically-gifted Scot to call upon in their ranks, as he remained at Hillsborough for a decade-long period in the most severe of turbulent times as a result of Dejphon Chansiri's ownership.

It has been well-documented that the Thai-based businessman's day-to-day running of the club had been extremely controversial, and so it proved when, in October 2025, amid fears of a winding-up petition, Wednesday's already troubled start to the 2025/26 Championship season was made even tougher on the pitch through a 12-point deduction after entering administration.

The cash-strapped Owls were then docked a further six points for financial irregularities, meaning their relegation was effectively rubber-stamped well in advance of when it was mathematically confirmed.

Such an unwanted sequence of events also came with Bannan's emotional exit to divisional rivals, Millwall, who had been pushing for the Premier League under the midfielder's fellow Scot, Alex Neil.

However, with the Lions remaining in the Championship after two counts of promotion heartache, and Wednesday being revitalised through David Storch's takeover, there is an ever-growing prospect that the 36-year-old could return to S6, and he has appeared to have already set out one clear demand.

Barry Bannan issues Sheffield Wednesday shirt number demand if Millwall return is sewn up

Action Images

Despite signing just a one-year deal at the time of his arrival from Crystal Palace in August 2015, Bannan, in his first spell with Wednesday, went on to amass a total of 477 appearances in all competitions, scoring 37 times and producing a further 75 assists under a plethora of managers and head coaches.

The last of those came in the form of Henrik Pedersen, who is expected to oversee the beginning of the club's latest rebuild, which begins with a clean slate in terms of points after the EFL waived suggestions of a 15-point deduction for the 2026/27 League One campaign, as well as any major spending caps.

As such, many pre-existing members of the Dane's squad have reportedly been in contract talks, whilst talk of a return for Bannan at Hillsborough has been rife.

Indeed, since Millwall's play-off semi-final second leg defeat to Hull City, Bannan has been intensely linked, and local publication, the Sheffield Star have claimed that formal talks between the Scot and chiefs in the Steel City have got underway, with the South London side also said to be willing to allow a move just six months into the midfielder's 18-month deal at The Den.

It has now also been claimed by The Wednesday Word that, if a reunion is sewn up, Bannan would like to don the number 10 shirt at Hillsborough, of course, which he is greatly associated with.

This comes after a period of wearing 67 in SE16, with many speculating that particular decision was a nod to the Owls' formation in 1867, as Bannan pledged in his emotional farewell video that he would like to return to Sheffield at some point.

Barry Bannan's kit superstition has already been seen in the EFL this summer

Action Images

Ironically, no player had taken up Wednesday's number 10 after Bannan's exit, meaning if he was to return in the coming weeks, the likelihood of a poetic return to South Yorkshire in more ways than one would be extremely smooth.

In fact, it isn't the only kit-themed superstition we have seen in the EFL in recent times, with Matt Crooks, one of Hull City's Championship play-off winning squad, returning to his '25' number last summer, which he dons in memory of former Huddersfield Town academy teammate, Jordan Sinnott, who died tragically aged 25 on January 25th, 2020.

Meanwhile, newly-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers announced the return of Molineux icon, Raul Jimenez, on a free transfer, following his exit from Fulham.

And, having scored 57 goals in 166 games as the Old Gold and Black's number nine, he was handed the exact same number after confirmation of the deal, with its former bearer and January signing, Adam Armstrong, more than happy to vacate it to the Mexican international.