Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed in their 2019/20 retained list that Fernando Forestieri ‘declined’ a new deal. He’s the second striker to turn down a contract extension after Steven Fletcher, so the 30-year-old could be on his way out of Hillsborough next week. In truth, Forestieri’s form under Garry Monk didn’t warrant a new deal anyway, so it’s surprising they wanted to keep him.
The Italian centre-forward joined Wednesday from Watford for £3.51m in 2015 and has gone on to make 134 appearances in all competitions, scoring 40 goals and making 18 assists. Forestieri was absent for a lot of games under Garry Monk, making only 19/43 appearances this season while scoring just two goals, so he won’t be missed.
Wednesday face Bristol City on Sunday, but it remains to be seen if Forestieri will make a farewell appearance – his contract will expire two days after the clash. Poor fitness levels saw the 30-year-old left out of the matchday squad in the Owls’ 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, so Monk may turn his attentions elsewhere when picking his team for the weekend.
Jordan Rhodes, Atdhe Nuhiu and Connor Wickham could be preferred in attack.
