Sam Hutchinson is expected to leave Sheffield Wednesday this summer as he’s out of contract in the coming months and was out-of-favour under Garry Monk. The 30-year-old hasn’t made an appearance for two months after being frozen out of the first-team by the Owls manager in mid-January and isn’t likely to get a contract extension as a result.
But with Kieran Lee and Joey Pelupessy’s contracts also expiring this summer, Wednesday will need at least one midfielder coming in to offset the loss. As per Transfermarkt, the Owls have been thrifty in the transfer market, mostly signing free agents and loans in the last four windows, so any potential replacement would need to fit the criteria.
One player who should be on their radar is John Obi Mikel – the 32-year-old is a free agent after terminating his Trabzonspor contract earlier this month after qualms over the Turkish Super Lig continuing amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He’s now available to speak to others club could be useful to Wednesday for one or two seasons.
Hutchinson can no longer get a game for Wednesday, so Mikel would be an upgrade on the 30-year-old by default. And with Joey Pelupessy struggling for form and playing time in the last seven months, clearly a highly-decorated midfielder with Premier League and Champions League pedigree would also be an upgrade.
As per Transfermarkt, Mikel has played for Plateau United, FK Lyn, Chelsea, TJ Teda, Middlesbrough and Trabzonspor. He made 372 appearances for Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles, one Champions League trophy, four FA Cups and two League Cups.
Wednesday couldn’t wish for a more decorated player to be available, and him having previously played for Middlesbrough in the Championship is evidence that he would be interested in returning to the English second-tier.
