Yan Valery, formerly of Southampton, joined Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month. The club has made substantial progress in their summer transfer activities recently, and out of the eight new players, Yan Valery stands out as someone manager Danny Röhl knows well. Röhl and Valery previously worked together at Southampton when Röhl was an assistant manager to Ralph Hasenhüttl. Valery’s move to Sheffield Wednesday was completed early in the month, reuniting the pair.
Contrary to other reports, The Star has revealed that the France-born Tunisian international was signed for a fee of around £400,000 and agreed to a three-year contract with the club. This contract could see Valery remain at Sheffield Wednesday until he is 29 years old, and sources indicate that there is no extension clause in the deal. This signing is part of a strategy of securing longer-term contracts for both younger and more experienced players. For instance, former Manchester United forward Charlie McNeill has a one-year extension option on his three-year deal, while Olaf Kobacki has signed a four-year contract. Valery has already appeared for Sheffield Wednesday, playing 45 minutes in a pre-season game against Alfreton Town. He will also be part of the training camp and friendly matches in Germany and Austria later this month.
After the confirmation of his signing, Valery expressed his excitement about rejoining Danny Röhl. The 25-year-old shared, “As soon as I knew that Danny wanted me, I just wanted to go back with him because I’ve known him as Southampton assistant coach. He’s the one who was really working on the pitch with the players and with me in my first season. He helped me a lot, and I improved so much with him, so I was really happy to hear from him again and to know that now he was the main manager. It was obviously a no-brainer.”