What Barry Bannan did when he came off for Sheffield Wednesday v Birmingham - Millwall links are fuelling fire | OneFootball

The Owls captain has recently become the subject of intense exit talk at Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday supporters have been reacting to the rather emotional substitution of Barry Bannan in the 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City on Tuesday night, with exit talk continuing to surround the modern-day Owls hero.

It has been nothing but a dismal season for Wednesday supporters, and that was emphasised by the breaking of an unwanted record against Birmingham at Hillsborough in midweek.

After failing to record what would be the only league 'double' of their campaign over Portsmouth in S6 on Saturday afternoon, the Owls saw their winless run stretch to 21 matches, a feat which had never previously occurred during the club's history.

Although it looked as though the Steel City side could have, at least, held out for a second stalemate of the campaign against Blues, who denied them a second Championship victory of the season in the 99th minute of the reverse fixture at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on November 30th, it wasn't to be for Henrik Pedersen and his players, who were, again, without the services of several key individuals due to a well-documented injury crisis.

After holding out for 83 minutes against Chris Davies' side, Wednesday were eventually undone by late goals from Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo Furuhashi, with the latter's strike in the final minute also representing his first league goal for Blues since his high-profile summer transfer.

However, it is fair to say that whilst an unwanted record had been smashed at Hillsborough, that was not the overriding storyline which dominated post-match discourse amongst Wednesdayites on social media.

Indeed, there has been way more discussion about what the future holds for Bannan, who has stayed loyal to the South Yorkshire club for almost 11 years now after initially joining from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2015 under Carlos Carvalhal.

Despite being at the age of 36, it is clear that some opposition managers believe the Scot's services would be a welcome addition to their side, as the deep-lying midfielder has, once again, become heavily linked with divisional rivals and play-off chasing Millwall.

As such, some supporters have contemplated whether the club legend's reaction to being substituted against the West Midlands side represented what could be 'farewell'.

Barry Bannan substitution incident for Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham City has got fans talking

Bannan has continued to be a constant feature in Pedersen's midfield this term, largely down to the Dane's limited options through a raft of transfer and registration-related embargoes and restrictions that have limited incomings.

The 27-time Scotland international has played in all but one of the Owls' 27 league fixtures so far this term, scoring three times and providing as many assists during that timeframe.

In the summer, Bannan was heavily linked with moves to either the Lions or Middlesbrough, but stayed loyal to Wednesday by signing a fresh contract extension whilst earning just £7,000 per week, according to reports.

However, with Wednesday still in administration as former professional poker player, James Bord, continues his aims of an eventual takeover, the man who has played 476 times for the club may have played his last game, at least in the eyes of some, with images showcasing a rather emotional moment as Bannan was embraced by Pedersen after his 89th-minute substitution for Jarvis Thornton.

How much Bannan means to Wednesday fans was particularly echoed by a statement issued by a supporter on social media post-match.

Another believes that Bannan's potential departure decision must be respected, given all the effort he has put in over time.

One Wednesdayite believes that former owner, Dejphon Chansiri, would be held somewhat accountable for Bannan's exit.

Another has urged the club to immortalise Bannan outside Hillsborough.

However, some supporters were not as concerned by the incident, with one believing that Bannan may have just been exhausted after his 89 minutes in midfield.

Henrik Pedersen weighs in on potential Barry Bannan, Sheffield Wednesday exit

It is hard to envisage a Wednesday side without Bannan at the heartbeat of the club's midfield, and Pedersen weighed in on the debate in his own post-match press conference.

“Barry had some little problems. I took him out and I hope Barry will stay, of course I hope. We speak every day and of course we speak about his situation, our situation. Let’s see what happens. I hope he will stay here," the Danish coach said after their latest defeat.

Whether there is truth to that claim by Pedersen is up for debate, but it did look like somewhat of a goodbye from the Scotsman when it was all said and done.

You could not blame Bannan for wanting something fresh whilst he's still got energy in his legs, and swapping a certain League One relegation for a play-off push with Alex Neil's side is something that could now be tempting.