Barry Bannan’s planned departure from Sheffield Wednesday has been clouded by new developments off the pitch over his future.

Despite widespread speculation that Saturday’s Championship match at Bristol City will be the midfielder’s final appearance for the club, no formal deal has yet been completed.

The 36-year-old skipper is alleged to have told Owls teammates on Friday that he expects to leave this month in a tearful farewell, bringing an end to a decade-long tenure that has made him one of the most important players of the modern era at Hillsborough.

Bannan has played 434 league games for Wednesday since signing from Crystal Palace in August 2015, captaining the club through promotion, relegation, and, most recently, administration.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season and the club experiencing severe financial difficulties, his future has become a symbol of Wednesday’s overall instability.

Barry Bannan’s latest transfer comes as Millwall’s links remain unclear.

According to BBC Radio Sheffield’s Rob Staton, Sheffield Wednesday has yet to receive an official approach from Millwall for Bannan, despite the London club being largely regarded as the front-runners for his signature.

No authorization has been granted for conversations to take place, and Staton reports that the club’s administrators from Begbies Traynor are expected to publish a statement next week to ‘clarify the club’s position’ on Bannan’s future, despite everything that has occurred this week.

That addendum provides an important layer of detail to a tale that has gained traction in recent days.

While Bannan has been widely linked with a move to The Den, and Millwall’s promotion campaign would make them an obvious choice, no official proposal is currently on the table.

The lack of a formal strategy indicates that, for the time being, conjecture may have overtaken concrete action.

Wednesday has been in administration since October, and while a preferred bidder was identified on December 24th, movement towards a takeover has been slow.

With the EFL’s owners’ and directors’ exams unlikely to be completed before the end of January, administrators are assuming that player sales will still be required to assure short-term cashflow.

In such setting, Bannan’s condition is not unusual. Yisa Alao, a 17-year-old defender, is said to be close to joining Chelsea, while striker Bailey Cadamarteri, 20, has also sparked interest, though no deal has yet surpassed Wednesday’s estimate.

Henrik Pedersen, Wednesday’s head coach, has been frank about the hardship of the position.

“I speak with Barry every day, and we all know he enjoys Sheffield Wednesday,” he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

“I hope he stays. I know he wants to stay, but it’s a very difficult situation.”

Sheffield Wednesday might still need to sell players in January.

On the pitch, Wednesday’s situation is gloomy.

They are on the club’s longest losing streak, having failed to win in 21 matches, and are bottom of the Championship with minus seven points after a total of 18 points were deducted for financial infractions.

At this point, demotion is unavoidable; stability is not.

Bannan’s impending departure, whether imminent or delayed, is less about a single transfer and more about what it signifies. Throughout years of ownership turbulence, he has remained a consistent figure of professionalism.

He apparently requested assurances about the club’s future but did not receive them, which speaks volumes.

If Saturday is Bannan’s final game in blue and white, it will mark the end of an era defined as much by resilience as by success – and highlight the magnitude of the task that awaits whoever takes over Sheffield Wednesday next.