Confirmed – Championship rival set to lose five players ahead of upcoming West Brom clash
Five Sheffield Wednesday players will leave the club the day before they lineup against West Brom in the Championship.
The Owls confirmed on Wednesday that Steven Fletcher, Fernando Forestieri, and Morgan Fox had turned down offers of new short-term deals, while Sam Hutchinson and Sam Winnall will be allowed to leave the club upon the expiry of their current contracts at the end of this month.
That means that the quintet will be free agents from June 30th, with West Brom set to face Wednesday on July 1st in a midweek game at Hillsborough.
Of the five players who are set to leave the club, the most eye-catching name by some distance is Steven Fletcher.
The 33-year-old is Wednesday’s top scorer in the Championship this season, and has hit 13 goals so far this term.
That puts the Scot ahead of any of Albion’s forwards in the goal rankings.
This is a real blow for Wednesday, but a potentially huge boost for West Brom.
At this stage of the season, Slaven Bilic and his men will take any advantage they can get in the race to land an automatic promotion spot, and if that includes playing a side who have lost several key first team talents, then so be it.
Not having to face Steven Fletcher in particular will be a significant factor for the Baggies.
The Scot actually scored against us in the 2-1 victory over Wednesday back in November.
With four goals in eight career appearances against West Brom, the veteran hitman is always a threat, and he has been in a rich vein of form this season already.
Taking him out the equation should help Albion relax massively ahead of the clash next Wednesday night.
In other West Brom news, ‘Blah, blah, blah’ – Sky Sports contact PL club & UEFA as Bilic fumes over West Brom treatment.