Sheffield Wednesday are in talks to extend the stay of a vital first-team player.
Sheffield Wednesday’s main focus is staying in the Championship this season, but there remains a slight concern about the volume of players whose contracts expire this summer.
The Owls could see as many as ten players leave on a free transfer, while another five loan stars could return to their parent clubs.
A large number of the players are regulars in the starting line-up too, with the future of Di’Shon Bernard a big worry for supporters.
The defender joined Sheffield Wednesday after he was released by Manchester United in the summer and has become a key player under Danny Rohl.
Bernard only signed a one-year contract though, leading fans to wonder whether they would have the option to extend his stay.
However, The Star journalist Alex Miller has now confirmed they do not have a trigger option and have instead had ‘preliminary chats’ regarding his future.
Bernard has also provided his own update on his contract situation and has admitted that Rohl has made it clear that he is ‘keen’ to keep the 23-year-old at Hillsborough beyond the summer.
Speaking to The Star, Bernard said: “At the moment it’s just about trying to play every game and at the end we can see what happens. I can’t say what will happen, really, because I don’t really know. I’m happy playing here under Danny. Since he has come here you can see that we’re playing much better football and I’m really enjoying working under him. We’ll see what happens.
“We’ve had conversations and in terms of my future he’s keen to have me and to continue to work with me, so it’s just ongoing conversations. There’s nothing official just yet but we’ll go forward with it and see what happens.”
Danny Rohl is eager to wait until the end of the season to focus on new contracts, but Sheffield Wednesday do need to make it clear to some of their key players that they want them to stay.
How important is Di’Shon Bernard?
Di’Shon Bernard has been excellent this term and has developed brilliantly following Rohl’s arrival in October.
The centre-back has made the fourth most tackles in the squad (34), the second-most clearances (60) and has won the third-most headers (44), while he has also completed the second-most passes (674) behind Barry Bannan.
Whatever league they are in next season, Sheffield Wednesday will be a lot better off if they still have Bernard commanding their backline.