Sheffield Wednesday's plans for the 2013/14 season have started in what is set to be the usual summer of transfer activity, rumour and speculation.
Wednesday finished the 2012/13 campaign in 18th place after enjoying a comfortable 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at Hillsborough in the last game of the season. Since then 6 out of contract players have been offered new deals to stay with the club http://www.sheffieldwednesday-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/owls_offer_half_a_dozen_new_deals_795854/index.shtml
3 players that will not be retained are Julian Bennett, Nicky Weaver and Nejc Pecnik. Bennett, a full-back signed by Gary Megson in July 2011 and played in close to 20 games in his first season with the Owls. He was never really part of Dave Jones first team plans however and didn't feature at all for Wednesday in the 2012/13 season. Bennett had a short spell on loan at Shrewsbury during last season but this was cut short due to a back injury .
Local lad Nicky Weaver enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Owls in 2005/06 and returned to sign for the club he supports in 2010, establishing himself as the Wednesday number one in the 2010/11 season. He made 10 appearances in 2011/12 but injuries and the form of Stephen Bywater meant that he was no longer 1st choice between the posts. Last summers signing of Chris Kirkland pushed Weaver further down the pecking order and the experienced goalkeeper didn't make a 1st team appearance last season.
Slovenian international Nejc Pecnik moved to Hillsborough, signing a 2-year deal last summer and hopes were high that the play-maker could make an impact in the Championship. After showing some early signs of promise Pecnik found it difficult to impose himself during matches and failed to make a telling impression in many of his 14 games for the club. It was difficult to see a position in which he was best suited within the team and as a result the Owls have ended his contract by mutual consent.