Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has backed striker Lee Gregory to reach the 20-goal mark for the club this season.

Gregory joined Wednesday in a permanent move from Stoke back in the summer transfer window, moving in the opposite direction to Bannan's former Owls teammate Steven Fletcher.

Since then, Gregory has quickly emerged as a key figure for Wednesday, as they look to secure a swift promotion back to League One for the coming campaign.

The 33-year-old has already scored eight goals in 20 league appearances for Darren Moore's side this season, putting him top of the club's scoring charts.

Now it seems as though Bannan has been impressed with what he has seen from Gregory, and is expecting plenty more goals from the striker in the coming months.

Speaking about Gregory's impact since his arrival at Hillsborough, Bannan was quoted by The Sheffield Star ar saying: “He is brilliant. You see a massive difference when he doesn't play for us.

“He takes the ball in and gets us up the pitch. He gets on the end of crosses, and works harder than most players. He’s a brilliant striker to play with and we are glad to have a striker like that.

“The last one we had was Fletch [Steven Fletcher] and Greggers is similar to Fletch in the way they play.

“He has been a big, big part of this team and hopefully we can keep him fit, keep him scoring goals and get him to 20 goals as quick as we can.”
Wednesday currently sit seventh in the League One table, two points adrift of the play-off places. The Owls are next scheduled to be in action on Boxing Day, when they are set to host Burton Albion at Hillsborough. The Verdict What a boost it would be for Wednesday if they could get Gregory to 20 goals this season. Having a striker get that sort of return in a campaign is often crucial in winning promotion, something the Owls are obviously targeting this season. Given the form he has shown over the past few months, it certainly looks as though Gregory has the best chance of reaching that landmark for Wednesday. Indeed, with the striker himself seemingly rejuvenated since moving to Hillsborough from Stoke, it does seem as though this is a move that has worked very well for all involved.