Tom Lees has one year remaining on his deal at Sheffield Wednesday, but he isn’t immune to being sold this summer. The 29-year-old struggled for form over the course of the season and was fortunate to not have been dropped by Garry Monk.
Lees was guilty of making errors leading to goals and didn’t look confident at centre-back in 2020, so Monk may be considering his options ahead of next season. Many supporters from the Sheffield Wednesday Fans Forum don’t believe he should be kept for another campaign.
Steve Fisher: “He’s not a natural leader.”
Ted Fowler: “Been a good servant Tom, but he’s started to make more and more mistakes so yeah, time to move on.”
Tim Wild: “Had a good career with us, but I think it’s time to part ways. We had an ideal replacement for him in Jordan Thorniley, but for some reason we let him go.”
Paul Brown: With the amount of turnover expected at the club in the summer, I would keep Lees and try to get him back to the level of performance he is capable of. He does need to improve though.”
Simon Rowe: “I would argue his form fell off in 2019. We need better.”
Nathan Gore: “Would say he would make a decent 3rd choice, but on £25k a week (it’s) silly money.”
Paul Oxley: “Time to go need a major rebuild.”
Stuart Coates: “Hasn’t really improved… week in week out.”
Lee Merry: “Get rid.”
Ken Bratby: “Let him go.”
Jeffrey Marshall: “Let him get off.”
Paul Monette: “When (he) first joined, (he) was solid enough. But (his) form over (the) last season was awful. Get rid.”
John Ellison: “Has to go.”
Lees joined Wednesday from Leeds United in 2014 and has gone on to make 231 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals and making seven assists.
The 29-year-old has been first-choice at centre-back this season, making 26 appearances across the board, but he might be at risk of losing his place. He earns £1.3m-a-year/£25k-a-week at Hillsborough too, so the Owls can argue they aren’t getting their money’s worth.
Lees’ market value is £2.5m, but it remains to be seen if suitors will make a move in the coming months. Wednesday would need to locate a replacement too, as Monk could be left with only Dominic Iorfa and Julian Borner at centre-back next season if the 29-year-old departs.