The versatile left sider is said to be negotiating his release from Hillsborough.
Sheffield Wednesday assistant boss Lee Bullen all but confirmed Jeremy Helan’s retirement in an interview with Talksport earlier on Monday.
A report in the Sheffield Star on Sunday claimed Helan had decided to call time on his career at age 24 for religious reasons.
And the Daily Mail later reported the Frenchman, whose Islamic name is Mukhtar, is planning a move to Saudi Arabia in order to do so.
Wednesday are yet to officially comment on Helan’s situation, although Bullen gave his reaction to the news on Talksport this morning.
“It’s a surprise, somebody who’s 24 years old, his career’s all in front of him,” the Scot said.
“But again it’s such a personal and emotional subject you’ve got to be careful as to the question you ask somebody when they make that sort of decision.”
Helan, who was controversially signed by Manchester City as a 16-year-old, moved to Wednesday in late 2012 on an initial month-long loan deal.
The versatile left sider signed a four-year deal at Hillsborough the following summer and has gone on to feature 145 times for the Owls in total, scoring four goals.
Helan spent time on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers last season and has only appeared once for Carlos Carvalhal’s men this term, in a 2-1 EFL Cup defeat to Cambridge United.
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