Barry Bannan has claimed that Sheffield Wednesday have one of the best players in the Championship.
Sheffield Wednesday were only promoted from League One this time last year and already face an immediate return this time round.
The Owls sit one point above the relegation zone, but their future will depend on the final day, when they travel to Sunderland.
Wednesday have heavily relied on the talents of Danny Rohl to give them any chance of staying up this term, with many of their players still arguably not good enough for this standard of football.
They do have a number of players who have really impressed under the German though, with the likes of Michael Ihiekwe and Pol Valentin undergoing brilliant transformations since the manager was appointed.
Wednesday will also struggle to keep hold of some of their biggest stars this summer, with a majority of the starting line-up set to see their contracts expire at the end of the season.
One player who they almost lost in January and could face a battle to keep hold of him again is Marvin Johnson.
The winger was linked with a £1 million move to Ipswich Town but ended up staying at Hillsborough, and has been vital to the Owls in the second half of the campaign.
Johnson has been unused as a left wing-back/left-back this term, bagging eight goal contributions and most recently netting in the 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
Marvin Johnson is one of the best in the league
Barry Bannan has heaped praise on his teammate and has claimed that ‘there are not many better’ in the Championship than Johnson.
Speaking to The Star, the captain said: ““With Marvin there is no doubting his ability.
“He’s a top player, and we’ve seen in the last couple of seasons here at Wednesday how good he is. He’s human, like us all, so we have off days, we play with injuries, there are loads of different things in people’s minds that might lead to them not performing.
“But when you get a fully fit and a fully focused Marvin Johnson there are not many better in this league. He assists, he scores, he’s great at one-on-one defending, he’s a top player. Like I say, he’s human, and there have been times when he’s tried to play through injuries in the last few weeks and maybe been a bit off it, but today – when it mattered – you’ve seen a man out there who stood up and put in a really top performance.”
The 33-year-old’s contract should be prioritised
Despite playing mainly in defence, Marvin Johnson has the fourth-most shots in the Sheffield Wednesday squad this season (35) and has made the third most key passes (29).
The 33-year-old’s links to Ipswich – who could be playing in the Premier League soon – proves just how good he is, and he certainly isn’t a player who should be battling relegation right now.
The Owls did have Johnson in League One last term too, though it would be a big surprise if they managed to keep hold of him if they were relegated again.
Rohl will undoubtedly understand his importance to the team, and if they can stay up then Johnson’s contract should be one close to the top of the club’s list of priorities.
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