Aston Villa released Barry Bannan in 2013 – now he’s one of the Championship’s most influential players at Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday playmaker Barry Bannan should be playing in the Premier League instead of the Championship. At least, that is according to a man who knows him better than most; Aston Villa’s former academy director Bryan Jones.
At the age of 29, Bannan is at the peak of his powers. But rather than pulling strings in the top flight and pitting his wits against the likes of David Silva, Paul Pogba and Tanguy Ndombele, he is starring for Garry Monk’s Sheffield Wednesday in the second tier.
Things could have been oh so different, however, had Aston Villa not decided to let Bannan join Crystal Palace on a free transfer in 2013 – a decision which his former mentor at Bodymoor Heath still cannot believe to this day.
“You look at Barry Bannan, what a player he was. He should be in the Premier League but there you go. He’s what 5ft 6in, size doesn’t matter,” Jones, comparing the diminutive Scot with the similarly slight Jack Grealish, told the Birmingham Mail.
In another era, Bannan might have established himself at the heart of the Aston Villa midfield like Grealish, who has been transformed from teen tearaway into inspirational captain in recent years.
But Paul Lambert, the manager of the Midland giants at the time, was a little reluctant to give youth a chance and did little to prevent Bannan from walking away for nothing – a point Jones was keen to make.
Villa’s loss, however, has undoubtedly been Sheffield Wednesday’s gain with one of the Championship’s most influential midfielders helping The Owls to fly up the Championship table.
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