Sheffield Wednesday have opened contract talks with left-back Morgan Fox over a potential new deal, according to TEAMtalk.
The Owls are currently in the midst of a push for promotion under Garry Monk following their surprise win over Leeds United on Saturday. The win came on the foundations of a very strong defensive performance once again from Garry Monk’s side and Wales international Morgan Fox was instrumental.
Before Monk came in at Hillsborough, Fox was very much on the periphery of the starting 11 and it was justified, given his inconsistency prior to Monk’s appointment in September.
Since then, Fox has been an integral part of Wednesday’s defence and has earned himself contract talks with the club over a new deal, according to TEAMtalk. With the Owls looking to consolidate their position in the top six for the rest of the season, we take a look at why this is the right move from the club…
He’s out of contract soon
Like a large portion of the Owls first-team, Fox’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and would be free to find another club at that point, meaning Wednesday would lose him for nothing.
This would be a huge blow to Monk and his side as he is clearly a valuable player to their system and could be that going forward beyond this season, so losing him for nothing hugely weakens the side.
Ensuring his future remains at Hillsborough for the coming seasons should be a priority for Monk and the club so that he can plan to strengthen around him and other players that are crucial to the system.
There is growing interest in him
Given his tremendous performances at left-back, it should come as no surprise to learn that Fox is attracting a lot of interest from a bunch of Championship clubs, including the likes of West Brom, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town.
If Wednesday don’t move quickly to secure his services this month, there will no doubt be clubs happy to take him from Hillsborough for a cut-price, or for free in the summer. If Fox wants to move then there isn’t much the club can do but they need to do all they can to ensure he signs a new deal to ward off any potential suitors.
On top of this, not only would Wednesday be losing a key player, their direct rivals would be gaining a great left-back, so they would be strengthening a side they are competing with for promotion.
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It builds continuity
One theme that has been apparent with the players at Hillsborough but not the coaching staff in recent weeks is the continuity of who is there. With many players out of contract in the summer for Wednesday, it’s clear that they have been there for the long haul and built a real togetherness within the group, so allowing key dressing room figures to leave could be catastrophic to that dynamic.
It’s a very experienced dressing room and this has yielded some very impressive results for them this season, including the win over Leeds, and keeping this group together should be top of the list for Wednesday if they harbour serious long-term ambitions.
Their defence is currently the third-best in the division and for good reason, because they rarely make changes to the side that is producing the goods, something that has seen Fox transformed.