Dom Howson recently claimed that Sheffield Wednesday could struggle to keep hold of Josh Windass this summer...

What's been said?

According to Howson's post on Twitter, should Wednesday suffer relegation to League One come the end of the season, the club will "have a job on their hands" in keeping the attacking midfielder at Hillsborough.

Howson also claimed in an article of his for Examiner Live that it would be unlikely the 27-year-old will be short of suitors in the summer transfer window, with West Bromwich Albion being credited with an interest in Windass back in January.

Owls must not sell

Sheffield Wednesday fans will require no explanation as to how important Windass has been to their side this season, with the £1.44 million-rated midfielder scoring nine goals and providing five assists over his 39 Championship appearances, as well as creating seven big chances and making an average of 0.7 key passes per game.

Additionally, the former Rangers man's performances have seen him average a SofaScore match rating of 6.80 - ranking the 27-year-old as Wednesday's sixth-best player in the second tier - with Sue Smith claiming that the midfielder is a "constant threat" for the Owls' attack.

Furthermore, the appointment of Darren Moore as the club's manager back in March appears to have improved the midfielder's game significantly, with Windass scoring four goals and providing four assists over the 12 games the 47-year-old has been at the club.

As such, should Wednesday go on to suffer relegation to League One this summer, retaining Windass ahead of next season would undoubtedly boost the Owls' chances of an immediate return to the Championship, particularly under the guidance of Moore.

However, whether or not the midfielder himself would be open to staying at Hillsborough after relegation is another matter entirely, particularly if a team such as West Brom declares their interest, although even if that is the case, the club should be doing everything in their power to keep the 27-year-old on their books as if he does leave, Moore will surely be gutted to lose such an influential player ahead of what will be a massive season.

In other news: Forget Borner: Shocking Sheff Weds star who lost possession 30x badly let Moore down - opinion