Yorkshire Live's Sheffield Wednesday reporter Dom Howson has claimed that a number of the club's out of contract players are yet to be offered new deal to extend their stay at Hillsborough beyond the end of the season.

Midfield trio Sam Hutchinson, Joey Pelupessy and Kieran Lee, along with attackers Fernando Forestieri, Atdhe Nuhui and Sam Winnall, are all out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

However, it seems as those negotiations with those six players have taken something of a back foot, with the club apparently prioritising new deals for full-back Morgan Fox and centre forward Steven Fletcher.

When asked during a QandA on Yorkshire Live about whether there were any other contract offers on the table with the exception of those handed to Fletcher and Fox, Howson responded by saying: "Not as far as I am aware. I think the main focus is understandably on tying down Fox and Fletcher at the moment.

"Dawson’s future was sorted out in January so I think the club will be delighted if they can get Fox and Fletcher to sign on the dotted line in the next month or so."

Discussing the issue that could arise due to the number of attackers that are due to see their deals with Wednesday expire, Howson added: "It will be interesting to see what Monk does upfront. If he decides not to renew the contracts of Forestieri, Winnall and Nuhiu, it will leave him short of options upfront.

"And that, of course, is assuming Fletcher will sign a new deal. If Fletcher, for whatever reason, opted to go elsewhere, Wednesday will have to bring in a minimum of two new strikers."

As things stand, Wednesday are currently 15th in the Championship, having won just two of their last 14 league matches, leaving them eight points adrift of the play-off places, and nine clear of the relegation zone.

The Verdict

I think holding off on these contract offers is a smart thing for Wednesday to do for the time being.

With the exception of Fletcher and Fox, the vast majority of those players set to see their deals expire at the end of the season have not enjoyed particularly impressive seasons.

As a result, it makes sense not to make too many offers for the time being, given there will undoubtedly be both an expectation and desire for them to improve next season, and it remains to be seen whether all of these players will be able to help them do that.