Sheffield Wednesday will hope, when next season comes around and a first ball is kicked, that Danny Rohl is still occupying his position as manager in the Hillsborough dug-out.
Wednesday supporters will know that there's no guarantee that the South Yorkshire side will be the most stable club over the off-season, with Darren Moore's fractious relationship with owner Dejphon Chansiri resulting in the promotion-winning boss being given the boot last summer, and so they will just pray for a more subdued and quiet environment this time around with the German hopefully staying put.
There is bound to be change when it comes to who is playing on the pitch for the Championship outfit, however, with a number of the troops at Rohl's disposal currently uneasy over their futures owing to their contracts running down.
Away from the likes of Barry Bannan and Liam Palmer not yet putting pen to paper on an extension, Michael Smith could be heading for the exit door – even with his current deal being in place until 2025 – with the Owls wanting to profit on their previously prolific centre-forward before it's too late.
Michael Smith's bright start at Sheffield Wednesday
Heading into this Championship campaign, off the back of the most dramatic promotion stories under Moore, many would have expected in South Yorkshire that Smith would be the main talisman up top to lead Wednesday back into the second tier and fire in the goals.
The prolific attacker at League One level would live up to his reputation for the Owls in that division, bagging 17 goals in the league for the eventual promotion-chasers which would take his total in the third tier across his esteemed career to an impressive 75 overall.
Club
Games played
Goals scored
Sheffield Wednesday
39
16
Rotherham United
99
33
Bury FC
19
1
Northampton Town
14
2
Swindon Town
60
21
Barnsley
13
0
Colchester United
8
2
Having had to cut his teeth at a number of League One sides, before coming into his own in the division under Paul Warne at Rotherham and then further with Wednesday, Smith must have been overjoyed at the prospect of establishing himself as a feared centre-forward in the division above.
Yet, the narrative hasn't quite gone in Smith's favour with the well-travelled striker looking likely to be moving on again this summer based on his lack of game-time under Rohl.
Smith's season for Wednesday in numbers
The lofty 6 foot 3 striker did initially start this season where he left off in League One for the Owls, netting against Hull City in Wednesday's second game back at the level before haunting his former employers Rotherham with two more strikes at the close of October.
However, since then, the 32-year-old has found his minutes to be fewer and fewer which coincided with Rohl's arrival onto the scene as a fresh face in the dug-out.
Smith only managed to find the back of the net once more during the entire rest of the campaign with his confidence shot as a sudden fringe figure, the German boss preferring to use the likes of Troyes loanee Ike Ugbo over the ex-Rotherham forward.
Rohl can be excused for wanting to freshen up the striker spot with hindsight now, knowing that the former Chelsea youngster would end up bagging seven goals when making the switch from France to help Wednesday navigate through some tough clashes and continue to pick up hard-fought victories.
To bring an end to his Wednesday nightmare now, Smith could look to get the ball rolling over a move to Derby County again – which nearly happened in January, according to reports – to link back up with his ex-Millers boss in Warne who managed to oversee the richest goalscoring form of his career whilst together at the New York Stadium.
The Owls wouldn't say no to offloading the reserve striker either, knowing that they could still gain a handsome amount of money for the 32-year-old who still boasts a higher worth than Josh Windass in the Hillsborough camp, according to Football Transfers.
Smith's transfer value in 2024
Despite only firing in four strikes during a dismal season from a personal perspective, Smith's valuation is still coming in at a high £944k.
Selling the seasoned striker on for this amount would see the Owls make a healthy profit, considering they managed to strike gold on a free transfer deal for Smith's services back in 2022 at the expense of Rotherham.
2024
£944k
2023
£1.1m
2022
£0
2021
£687k
2018
£1.2m
Wednesday just won't want to be burnt in a similar manner to the Millers when they lost Smith for nothing two years ago, considering his transfer value would rise to £1.1m just a year into his move to the Owls.
Amazingly, despite his heroics recently in helping his side complete a dramatic escape from relegation, Josh Windass' value sits at a lesser £429k – less than half of Smith's amount – with Rohl and Co no doubt clamouring to sign up the ex-Accrington Stanley man for next season with his contract expiring next month.
Entering into a mini purple patch at the best possible time, by scoring a goal in all of Wednesday's last three league games, Rohl will want the 30-year-old to stick it out at Hillsborough more so than Smith who will be allowed to leave.
Staggeringly, another key member of Rohl's camp in Barry Bannan finds himself being worth the same amount as the striker stuck on the periphery in South Yorkshire all whilst assisting Liam Palmer's crucial opener on the final day to secure safety at the Stadium of Light.
It's been a quick decline for Smith, who was one of the first names on the team sheet under Moore's reign and was even described as a "colossal" figure by Warne during his best days at the New York Stadium.
Now, the 32-year-old is merely a bit-part player in his less than welcoming South Yorkshire location and will be seen as a player that can be offloaded now to make some satisfactory profit off of.
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