Di’Shon Bernard has spoken out after putting pen to paper on a new contract at Sheffield Wednesday last week.
The centre-back’s future had been in doubt for months, with Bernard being one of a number of players who could have left at the end of their contract.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship survival tempted most of them to extend their stay, but Bernard’s presence at Copa America delayed contract talks with the club.
Despite an Instagram post convincing a number of fans that he was leaving, Bernard signed a new contract with the Owls days later.
The 23-year-old has now linked up with the rest of his teammates in Germany and is waiting to make his first appearance of pre-season when they take on Werder Bremen later this week.
Bernard reacts to ‘amazing’ Sheffield Wednesday fans
Bernard has now addressed the fans’ support this summer as they looked to persuade him to stay at Hillsborough.
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, the defender said: “”Yeah, I think they’ve sent messages to everyone I know really telling me to come back, so that’s definitely a big thing for me. They’ve been amazing to me, like with the chant and everything else. That’s always amazing and a good feeling to have.
“I don’t know why everyone likes me too much because I’ve not really contributed to the stats, but it’s a nice feeling to be a favourite to the fans.”
Bernard made the sixth-most tackles in the squad last season (48), the fifth-most interceptions (34), the third-most clearances (95) and the second-most shots blocked (24). Though he did win the most headers in the team (78).
The Owls’ Mr. Reliable has a big future ahead of him
The former Manchester United star is correct in that he didn’t top most of the charts last term, but he was solid at just about everything.
Bernard proved to be Mr. Reliable last season and showed potential in all areas of his defensive work, quickly becoming one of the first names on the team-sheet.
The importance of Bernard’s extension was not just because of his ability now, but because of the fact that he only turned 23 in October.
Wednesday have a number of older defenders on their books, but Bernard is one that has a big future ahead of him and is likely to take it up a notch during a full season working under Danny Rohl.
While it would have been nice to have a full pre-season with the Jamaican, there is no doubt that fans will see a much-improved Bernard over the next year.