Sheffield Wednesday must mull over future of key men who could be snapped up from January

As per FIFA rules, clubs outside of England can legally approach players who are within six months of the end of their contract in an attempt to sign them on 'pre-contract' terms. This would allow the player to move to a foreign club on a free transfer basis, with nominal compensation fees awarded in the case of a player under the age of 24.

The most recent example of this in Sheffield Wednesday's case would be that of youngster Liam Shaw, who signed for Celtic in the early months of 2021.

With a host of first team players entering the final months of their deals at Hillsborough - deals tend to end on June 30 - Wednesday run the risk of players being approached by foreign clubs in the new year. Among those coming to the end of their current deals at Hillsborough are Josh Windass and Dominic Iorfa, who have attracted interest from clubs in Argentina and Croatia in recent windows.

Barry Bannan, Lee Gregory, Cameron Dawson, Liam Palmer, Will Vaulks and George Byers are some of the other players believed to be coming to the end of their deals next summer.

Should Wednesday wish to protect the futures of any of those players beyond doubt, the club could consider tabling their own negotiations ahead of the turn of the year.

The rules are different when it comes to negotiations involving two English clubs. Teams can only approach a player playing in the same nation when he enters the final month of his contract, when the domestic season ends. The FA implement this to avoid a situation where a player signs a pre-contract agreement with another club mid-season, and then faces his new club in a match.