Darren Moore has revealed that Sheffield Wednesday have begun talks with "one or two" players who see their contracts expire at Hillsborough next month, in conversation with the Yorkshire Post.
The Owls, who are preparing for their trip to Sunderland in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final clash, are looking to secure an immediate return to the Championship.
Callum Paterson, Massimo Luongo, Saido Berahino, Jack Hunt, Liam Palmer, Chey Dunkley, Sam Hutchinson and Joe Wildsmith all see their current deals expire next month, as it remains to be seen who is part of Moore's plans.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post about the contract situations of the aforementioned players, Moore said: "Things are ongoing with the contracts. We’ve opened talks with one or two of the lads, but it’s ongoing.
“It doesn’t take one day or a couple of weeks, it’s an ongoing process that will probably go on beyond the end of the season and into the earlier summer weeks.
“From our perspective we’re just focusing on the games, all that stuff is being taken care of. We’re coming together and we’re focusing on the game.”
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and focus on the ‘what ifs’, this and that. We’ve got games to focus on.
“It’s come to the end of the season, there are a lot of ifs and buts, but we’re all in a position where we’ve all come through different hurdles to get to this position.”
The verdict
As Moore quite rightly points out, they have very important games coming up, with the Owls possessing an excellent opportunity to secure an immediate return to the Championship.
The fact that they have started conversations with one or two players indicates their importance to the team, with the division they are in likely to not play a part in their eventual decision of awarding a contract or not.
There are some big names on the list who see their contracts expire next month, whilst there are also players that one would expect the club to part with.
It will be interesting to see how each individual situation plays out, with promotion back to the second-tier a massive factor in what occurs.