Barry Bannan keen to see Sheffield Wednesday secure agreement with 29-year-old

Massimo Luongo has been a mainstay in the Sheffield Wednesday first team since returning from injury in late November.

The Owls’ midfield contingent, with the Australian playing alongside George Byers and Barry Bannan, has been one of the most effective in League One since.

Wednesday Player of the Season Barry Bannan explained just how crucial Luongo is and that he hopes the 29-year-old will sign a new contract in the summer, when he spoke to The Yorkshire Post.

He said: “I would love for him to be involved with the club next season and, hopefully, Mass (Massimo Luongo) and the club can get all that sorted once we deal with (on-pitch) business first.

“He’s been brilliant.

“He’s been a big part of it and when he plays, it makes my life a lot easier because I can go off and do the things I enjoy doing and he can do the things he says he doesn’t like doing, but he does because he does it every week!

“He has been a big part of why we have turned a corner, (and) a massive part of the club that has been here a while now.

“He is experienced and he is the type of person you want next to you going into these sort of games.”

Had Luongo been available more regularly last season, there is a strong chance that Wednesday would not have been relegated to the third tier in the first place, and the engine roomer can make amends for that in the coming weeks.

The Verdict

Wednesday are narrow favourites to win promotion via the play-offs, but team news will be eagerly awaited on Friday evening to see if Bannan has recovered from the injury that forced him off in the Owls’ final day 4-1 win over Portsmouth on Saturday.

Darren Moore has tinkered a lot with his deep squad this season, but the midfield trio is one thing that he has been able to