Sheffield Wednesday’s plight deteriorates with each passing week. There are no two ways about it. The summer saw a massive exodus of senior players.
While the Owls made about £2.5 million on Djeidi Gassama’s sale to Rangers, Akin Famewo, Josh Windass, Callum Paterson, Michael Smith, Michael Ikiekwe, and others have all left Hillsborough for free. Max Lowe appears to be the next to leave the team.
Dejphon Chansiri failed to pay his players on time for the third consecutive month in July, and the persistent uncertainty prompted Lowe to give in his notice, indicating that he will quit Wednesday before August 15th.
| Max Lowe’s 2024/25 Championship stats, per Transfermarkt | |
| Games | 34 |
| Starts | 31 |
| Clean Sheets | 7 |
Lowe established himself as a fixture in Danny Röhl’s side during the 2024/25 season after joining from Steel City rivals Sheffield United, and his departure is another blow to Owls fans ahead of this Sunday’s Championship opening against Leicester City.
Patrick McKenna, a Sheffield Wednesday fan commentator for FLW, believes that this departure is a major setback, but emphasizes that every senior player that leaves is a loss for the Owls, since they will be unable to replace them with anyone other than inexperienced youth players.
Sheffield Wednesday fan pundits comment on Max Lowe’s impending exit
McKenna, disappointed, spoke to Football League World about Lowe’s notice being served.
“With more player departures, it gets worse and worse,” he told me.
“Max Lowe doesn’t care how good he was last season. He may have been our finest or worst player. We’re just losing more senior players, and we can’t bring in any replacements.
“The situation is getting more farcical now, we’re barely going to have any senior players left.”
Wednesday are currently unable to pay transfer fees for players in the next three windows due to an embargo imposed on late payments.
On Lowe, McKenna stated, “It doesn’t matter how good he was last season, but he actually ended up being one of our better players last year after a rough start.
“I’d say he was one of our main defenders, and now he’s gone, his place replaced by a young guy. It truly emphasizes how serious things are at the club.
“It’s unprecedented, really, seeing all the players handing in their notice, leaving us with a threadbare squad, and we won’t even be getting any money for him.”
Last season, Lowe appeared in 34 league games for the Owls, including 25 consecutive Championship starts until suffering a season-ending knee injury in March’s Steel City derby against Sheffield United.
“It simply cannot go on,” McKenna said.
“If Chansiri does not sell, there will be more wage concerns every month, and every player who goes is a huge loss.
“The situation at Wednesday is hurtling towards a very scary conclusion.”
Sheffield Wednesday must make changes soon
On the field, Sheffield Wednesday’s season is looking increasingly like a write-off as Henrik Pedersen struggles to assemble a competitive squad. Instead, the goal is to ensure that Owls fans have a team to support in the foreseeable future.
Wednesday fans are planning a ‘late to your seat protest’ for this Sunday’s game at Leicester City.
But even if the game goes ahead, the club’s financial difficulties may cause the players to refuse to play, as they did in a previous pre-season friendly against Barnsley.
Whatever the case may be, something must happen soon. Sheffield Wednesday is a club with a long history, but its future is uncertain.
In the near term, Wednesday fans will hope that Lowe is the only one who gives his notice, but the cruel fact is that he could be the first of many of the club’s remaining senior players to depart soon.
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