Sheffield Wednesday: The perfect like-for-like Barry Bannan replacement is Santiago Colombatto | OneFootball

It is fair to say that Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has established himself as something of a legend at the club.

Bannan joined the Owls from Crystal Palace on a free transfer in August 2015, and he is certainly one of the club's best signings in recent history.

The midfielder starred as Wednesday reached the Championship play-offs under Carlos Carvalhal in his first two seasons at Hillsborough, and while the club have struggled to reach those heights since, Bannan has remained loyal.

After staying in South Yorkshire following the Owls' relegation to League One in 2021, Bannan was determined to lead the club back to the second tier, and he achieved that goal last season as the Owls beat Barnsley in the play-off final at Wembley in May.

Bannan has once again played a key role for Wednesday this season in their battle against relegation in the Championship, and while his contract is set to expire in the summer, manager Danny Rohl is confident he will sign a new deal regardless of the outcome of this campaign.

"I think Barry is a big part of this team and a big part of this club, alongside Liam Palmer they are players that have such a long time here," Rohl told The Star.

"I am very convinced he (Bannan) will be here, it doesn't matter which league. I like that he is also looking to see what he is wanting to do after his playing career, maybe be a manager at some time and that is fantastic, to be open to this as well.

"There is no issue, no problem. He will be a part of the team next season."

Bannan remains incredibly influential for the Owls, and it looks likely that he will see out his career at the club, but there will come a time when the 34-year-old moves on.

With that in mind, we looked at who the perfect like-for-like replacement for Bannan would be.

Santiago Colombatto is Sheffield Wednesday's ideal Barry Bannan replacement

FBref ranked the players most similar to Bannan, and Real Oviedo midfielder Santiago Colombatto is number one.

Colombatto joined Spanish second division side Real Oviedo on loan from Mexican outfit Leon in August, and he has impressed since his move to Spain.

The 27-year-old has previously played for a number of clubs during his career, including Cagliari, Pisa, Trapani, Perugia, Verona, Sint-Truiden and Famalicao.

Oviedo finished eighth in the Segunda Division last season, narrowly missing out on the play-off places, but they are once again in promotion contention this campaign, with Colombatto proving to be a creative influence at the heart of midfield, regularly contributing with goals and assists.

Colombatto scored five goals and provided seven assists in 43 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell with Famalicao in Portugal last season, and he has already surpassed that total of assists this campaign, while he looks on course to reach a similar goal tally.

The Argentine's full focus will be on helping his side to promotion to La Liga this season, but his future will be up in the air in the summer once his loan spell with Oviedo ends, and having played in Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Mexico and Spain so far, it remains to be seen whether a move to England could be the next step for Colombatto.

Other players said to be similar to Bannan, as per FBref