The return of Barry Bannan to Sheffield Wednesday appears to be one of the more likely deals this summer.

The 36-year-old departed Hillsborough in January to join Millwall, capping a ten-and-a-half-year career that encompassed the highs of reaching the Championship play-off final and the lows of relegation to League One and financial mismanagement by former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Chansiri’s decision to put Sheffield Wednesday into administration created enough uncertainty surrounding the club that Bannan was obliged to leave.

Wednesday had an exclusive contract with former professional poker player James Bord in January, and the Scotsman stated that he was concerned about the club’s future, prompting his resignation.

Following his departure to Millwall, the deal fell through, and the club was taken over by David Storch and the Arise Consortium.

Arise has not hidden its wish to bring Bannan back, and that feeling is clearly mutual. Talks have been ongoing in some capacity since April, and as the off-season progressed, it seemed almost a matter of when, not if, we’d see the fan favourite back in a Wednesday shirt.

Barry Bannan photographed in Sheffield Wednesday training gear, hinting at his biggest return

Sheffield Wednesday have changed their pre-season venue from Middlewood Road to St George’s Park in preparation for their League One return.

Henrik Pedersen’s team will spend five days at the facility, culminating in a friendly against West Brom on Saturday, before heading across Europe for camps in Hungary and Austria.

Several familiar faces have signed up for this leg of pre-season, ranging from those who remained from last season to new arrivals and even players who have yet to be revealed by the club, including Bannan, it appears.

The 36-year-old has been spotted at St George’s Park with the rest of the Wednesday squad, dressed in Owls training gear.

With it being stated yesterday that the Scotsman’s homecoming was “fairly imminent,” it appears that Bannan will be officially a Sheffield Wednesday player once more.

How Sheffield Wednesday fans have responded to the new Barry Bannan picture

Understandably, the sight of Bannan back with the squad and wearing the new training gear has Sheffield Wednesday fans ecstatic, as even the most cynical members of the fandom can’t argue against a return now.

After the photograph was shared online, Owls fans gathered on X to celebrate the fresh image.”Wow, what a sight that is😍😍,” a Wednesday fan remarked. “Can you guess who is back? Back again. He has returned home, which makes me very happy! “Welcome back, Mr Bannan and family,” added another.

Other Owls fans began to joke that their former captain had been reported for training while injured, with the image unfortunately showing him holding his left hamstring.

“Holding the back of the leg, is he already injured?” a fan asked. “Don’t tell me he’s done his hamstring already,” and “Pulled his hammy already by the looks of it,” were some of the responses.

Bannan has played fewer than 40 league games in just two of his ten complete seasons at Hillsborough, and he started every game in the Championship last year before joining Millwall.

Ultimately, the chances of an injury this early in preseason are small, but Wednesday fans have recently learnt to be pessimistic. The return of Bannan to Hillsborough brings a sense of buoyancy that has not been witnessed in a long time.Yes! “He’s back!” a fan said, and it certainly encapsulates the entire fanbase’s reaction to seeing the 36-year-old rejoin the group.