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Sheffield Wednesday prioritizing a contract extension for this 30-year-old veteran is the need of the hour

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Why Sheffield Wednesday should prioritise a new contract for Sam Hutchinson

According to the Sheffield Star, Sheffield Wednesday star Sam Hutchinson has expressed his desire to commit his long-term future to the club, with the player revealing that he wants to finish his career at Hillsborough. 

Hutchinson, who is currently into his seventh season at the club, is out of contract next summer, and with talks over a new deal yet to be finalised, the 30-year-old has admitted that he would like to put pen to paper on fresh terms to extend his stay. (h/t Sheffield Star)

The Windsor-born former England youth international has started each of the Owls’ first seven fixtures in the Championship this term and has continued to be one of the mainstays of Sheffield Wednesday’s midfield under new manager Garry Monk. 

The 30-year-old starred with a goal and an assist in the Owls’ 3-1 victory over Reading on the opening day in the Championship last month and has been used to good effect in a central midfield role alongside Barry Bannan. 

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Sheffield Wednesday have made a bright start to life under Garry Monk. While lack of consistency has been a problem for the Owls thus far,  the fans at Hillsborough will be hoping for their club to kick on after a positive start and eventually stake a claim for a place in the promotion playoffs. 

Hutchinson has been one of the standout performers for the Owls thus far this term, playing a key role with his combative nature in breaking up the play in the midfield and setting the tempo of the game with his impressive range of passing and intelligent distribution.

Garry Monk’s side have only shipped 6 goals thus far and the 30-year-old deserves a large share of the credit for shielding the backline effectively. 

The veteran, who possesses the versatility to play as a centre-back, right-back and also as a holding midfielder, averages 2.1 tackles, 2.3 interceptions, 0.6 key passes and 3.4 long balls per game to go with a pass success rate of 84.9, figures which are a testament to the kind of influence he has had at the heart of the midfield under Monk. 

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A youth product of Chelsea, Hutchinson only made a handful of appearances for the Blues and spent time on loan at Nottingham Forest, Vitesse Arnhem and Sheffield Wednesday, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2014. 

The versatile defender suffered several injury setbacks in the earlier stages of his career but he has really settled down and carved out a reputation for himself over the course of his five-year stay at Hillsborough, becoming a firm fan favourite in the process. 

Hutchinson has made a total of 137 appearances for the Owls in all competitions till date and he certainly looks good to add a lot more to that tally, although that would probably depend on the club’s stance over a potential new contract to extend his stay beyond next summer. 

To put things into perspective, it should be a no-brainer for the Owls to respond to the Hutchinson’s plea and move quickly to secure his long-term future, given that he is among the best defensive midfielders in the English second-tier and arguably one of the club’s best players. 

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That the 30-year-old has started each of Wednesday’s first seven league fixtures is a clear testament to his fitness levels and the Owls should be wise enough to know that they would need to fork out a sizable fee to bring in a like-for-like replacement who combines such a wide range of virtues, not to mention, the versatility to play in different positions.

Hutchinson’s quality as a professional, as well as his experience and temperament, make him an invaluable asset to Sheffield Wednesday and a key figure in their promotion push, meaning that losing him on a free transfer next summer would be a big shame for the Owls. 

That said, he still has a lot to offer at the age of 30, at least at the Championship level, and the club certainly need to retain his services with a new contract.