Danny Rohl has witnessed various Sheffield Wednesday faces go from putting in dismal displays to heroic ones under his tenure so far, the German boss allowing the Owls to believe they can break out of the Championship relegation zone by instilling belief back into the once written off group.
The West Yorkshire outfit have been helped by electric new additions in the form of Ike Ugbo and Ian Poveda starring at Hillsborough since joining on loan, but experienced parts of the furniture such as Will Vaulks have also stepped up alongside the sparkling new signings.
Putting in imposing displays against the likes of Rotherham United and Plymouth recently – with both of those contests seeing the 30-year-old defensive midfielder win 100% of his aerial duels – Wednesday will be feeling a little uneasy about the fact Vaulks' contract is up this summer now.
If the seasoned Owls figure does end up walking away, there could well be an opportunity for this forgotten midfielder to come back into the first-team fold and shine.
Tyreeq Bakinson's time at Sheffield Wednesday
Tyreeq Bakinson has never really been given a drawn-out spell in the Owls XI to truly star since joining from Bristol City in 2022, making 26 appearances last season in League One.
The majority of those appearances would come from off the bench, but he still played his part in Wednesday achieving promotion glory.
The 26-year-old midfielder has made only 16 more appearances for Wednesday away from offering Darren Moore another player to rely on in a holding role last campaign, but he could be offered a career lifeline at Hillsborough when you cast an eye over the number of players nearing towards the end of their current deals at the club.
Di'Shon Bernard
June 2024
Will Vaulks
June 2024
Cameron Dawson
June 2024
Josh Windass
June 2024
Dominic Iorfa
June 2024
Barry Bannan
June 2024
Liam Palmer
June 2024
Lee Gregory
June 2024
Ciaran Brennan
June 2024
With Barry Bannan's contract also nearly up, who occupies a similar holding role to Bakinson, the former Bristol City man – who was once described as being "superb" by football journalist Dom Howson – could still well have a future with the Owls despite being chucked out on loan to Charlton Athletic this January.
The current Addicks loanee has shown glimpses of the player who bagged five goals for the Robins during an impactful two-season stay in his new surroundings, with the 26-year-old succeeding under new Charlton boss Nathan Jones so far.
Why Bakinson could replace Vaulks
Despite only being on the pitch for 11 minutes last time out against Cheltenham in League One action, Bakinson left a lasting impact.
The Charlton number 30 would get in on the goalscoring act in the 3-1 away day win even from such a brief cameo with a composed finish under pressure, alongside winning three ground duels to protect his side's three points.
Bakinson will hope his positive displays down a division – that has seen him average 4.9 ball recoveries per game from ten matches played so far for the Addicks – can mean he isn't moved on from Hillsborough permanently in the summer.
The 26-year-old could well be walking somewhat of a contract tight-rope himself, with reports revealing that a one-year extension can be triggered for Bakinson soon only if the club want to, but Rohl and Co would be silly to offload the fringe midfielder if they need bodies in the building in the wake of various players potentially moving on.
With so many of the personnel at Wednesday suffering from anxiety regarding their futures being up in the air, it will be fascinating to see what the Owls squad looks like next season.
Bakinson will be hoping he's kept around, becoming an ideal replacement for Vaulks in the process if the Welshman exits.