Sheffield Wednesday have put all negotiations with their group of out-of-contract players on hold until they are aware of exactly what league they are playing in next term.

The Owls are facing the very likely prospect now of being relegated to League One and their relegation could even be confirmed within their next few games, if not even sooner than that. Darren Moore’s side are going to need to pretty much win all of their remaining games to give themselves a chance of beating the drop. That is something they look incapable of doing.

The likes of Kadeem Harris, Alex Hunt, Sam Hutchinson, Elias Kachunga, Tom Lees, Moses Odubajo, Joey Pelupessy, Matt Penney, Adam Reach, Jordan Rhodes, Osaze Urhoghide, Joost van Aken and Keiren Westwood are all out of contract at Hillsborough at the end of the campaign. There have been recent reports linking the likes of Rhodes, Reach, Harris and Urhoghide to other clubs.

It is now being reported by the Sheffield Star that the Owls have put on hold all negotiations that have been taking place with those players until they know their fate for next term. While no progress is thought to have been made in the talks with any of the out-of-contract players. Barry Bannan remains the only one to have committed his future to the club.

The verdict

This is massive for Sheffield Wednesday and shows just how dire of a situation the club are in heading into the last few games of the campaign. The club is in major trouble with relegation looking likely and if and when that comes there is very little chance of them being able to financially keep hold of some of those out-of-contract players.

There will be a feeling amongst supporters that perhaps a clear out is what is needed to turn things around on the field in the next few years. A lot of the players mentioned have not done enough for this term to warrant being kept on at Hillsborough. However, the fact they are going to lose all of those assets for free, barring Urhoghide because of his age, shows what a mess they are in.

It is going to take a massive rebuild in the summer to replace those players, but it would offer Moore the chance to bring in his own players and build a side in his own image. A fresh start is needed at the club, but is there anything to suggest at the moment that they would bring in the right type of players to turn things around. You would have to doubt that at this stage.