Barry Bannan has revealed the ‘under-rated’ former Sheffield Wednesday player who surprised him the most.
Sheffield Wednesday captain and fan favourite Barry Bannan has recently revealed his all-time Owls XI.
A number of current and former players featured in Bannan’s all-time Sheffield Wednesday XI, including the likes of Josh Windass and Liam Palmer.
In goal was Keiren Westwood, with names like Julian Borner, Fernando Forestieri, and Gary Hooper also featuring.
Bannan signed a new Sheffield Wednesday contract this summer, taking him into what will be his 10th season at Hillsborough.
He’s so far racked up 402 total appearances for the first-team and has come close to achieving promotion from the Championship twice, later captaining the side to promotion from League One.
The 34-year-old has also played with a number of players during his time in S6.
But one name surprised Bannan the most with how good he proved to be for Sheffield Wednesday.
Barry Bannan labels Kieran Lee as the ‘most surprising’ during his time at Sheffield Wednesday
Revealing his all-time Wednesday XI, Bannan named former Owls favourite Kieran Lee in the middle.
Lee, now 36, began his career with Manchester United and made one Premier League appearance for the club before leaving for Oldham Athletic in 2008, signing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2012.
In eight years with the Owls, Lee made 217 total appearances, scoring 22 goals and assisting 17 more.
He left in 2021 as a free agent, joining Bolton Wanderers for two years.
Giving his verdict on Lee, Bannan told the club: “The most laid-back, most down to earth person you could ever come across in your life.
“And probably the one that’s most surprised me in my time at Sheffield Wednesday.
“Obviously knew who he was, had a career at Manchester United, but then when I signed for Wednesday; I knew who he was because I followed Man United… but I didn’t know what to expect from him on a football pitch.
“Amazing player. Probably one of the best ones I’ve played with. He was everywhere.
“He would be attacking one minute, clearing the ball from his own box the next minute, and just a really under-rated player, went about his game quietly.”
What is former Sheffield Wednesday man Kieran Lee up to now
Lee spent two successful years with Bolton, helping the club to promotion from League Two in 2021 and then lifting the EFL Trophy in 2023.
He scored 10 and assisted 10 more in 91 total appearances for the club, but now appears to have retired.
There’s been no official retirement from the player, who certainly goes down as a top Sheffield Wednesday player of the modern era in Bannan’s mind and in the mind of Wednesday fans too.
He was a real cult hero during his time in S6 and he’s not easily been replaced, with Sheffield Wednesday still, arguably, lacking a midfielder with his box-to-box skill set.