Sheffield Wednesday give contract updates on key stars & free seven players

The contractual status of Windass, 31, had been the subject of conjecture, but he is set to stay for a further 12 months and extend his Owls association into a seventh campaign.

He scored 13 goals last season and provided five assists.

Options have also been taken up on the deals of target man striker Michael Smith – the 33-year-old scored eight times in 2024-25 – and wingman Anthony Musaba for them to remain at Hillsborough next term.

Club legend Bannan, 35 – who joined the Owls on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2015 and has made 447 appearances for the Hillsborough outfit – has been tabled with fresh terms and is in discussions with the club alongside defender Akin Famewo and utility man Callum Paterson.

Speaking earlier in the spring, Paterson, 30, expressed his desire to remain with the Owls.

The ex-Hearts and Cardiff man said: “All I can do is give my all, like I have done every time I’ve been asked, and hopefully things will happen.”

Famewo impressed in the back line before an injury curtailed his season.

Confirmation has also arrived that Stuart Armstrong, Ben Hamer, Ryo Hatsuse, Michael Ihiekwe, Marvin Johnson, Pol Valentin and Mallik Wilks will be released following the expiry of their current contracts.

Ihiekwe, 32, and Johnson, 34, were part of the side promoted to the second tier in 2022-23, while Wilks spent last term on loan at Rotherham United.

He has previously played for Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Hull City and Leeds United.