Josh Windass slammed for "bang out of order" Sheffield Wednesday claim | OneFootball

Windass made some controversial comments regarding newly released Owls youngster Joey Phuthi on a recent podcast interview.

Sheffield Wednesday star Josh Windass has been coming in for some criticism after he questioned the ability of Owls academy player Joey Phuthi on a recent podcast interview.

The 31-year-old was speaking in an interview with Open Goal when he told of a conversation he'd had with the 20-year-old, in which he suggested Phuthi - who has recently been released by Wednesday - claimed 'Messi doesn't run' after being asked to have a conversation with him regarding his running stats.

As well as using an expletive to describe his ability, Windass also described him as 'the worst player ever', as the veteran forward pulled no punches in regard to his opinion on the Zimbabwe international's ability and attitude.

Fans respond to Josh Windass, Joey Phuthi outburst

Windass' comments soon went viral, after an X user by the name of Ben clipped the 27-second-long segment in question.

It's fair to say his words on Phuthi received mixed responses from Owls supporters, with some blasting the 13-goal Wednesday forward for his choice of words, whilst others came to his defence for speaking his mind.

One fan wrote: "Honestly, I don’t mind this at all! The experienced players are there to make sure the youngsters remain grounded! Josh has a point too, the lad just got released."

Another said: "I think the thing with Josh is it’s not the subject or the things he says it’s how he says them. Didn’t need to name the lad and throw him under the bus and he couldn’t said it differently If this story is being told by Bannan it’s worded completely different."

"I don’t see a problem here. We’ve all played football yeah? We’ve all got opinions yeah? Do we want sterile robots or personality cos you can’t have both." another Owls fan said.

One Wednesday fan simply put: "Great role model."

Another wrote: "He’s so arrogant it’s unreal you would’ve thought he was the best player in the world with his arrogance."

"Bang out of order, was Windass the complete footballer at 17." one fan said.

"What arrogance from Windass he's not all that himself. Get him gone!" another wrote.

Joey Phuthi has responded to Josh Windass' comments about him

In wake of Windass' comments regarding his ability and work-ethic, Phuthi has responded to the viral interview from his former Sheffield Wednesday teammate.

Posting a lengthy statement to his X account on 21 May, Phuthi wrote: "It's disappointing to be called out by Josh Windass during what's already been a really tough period for me.

"Not being offered a new contract at Sheffield Wednesday has been difficult to process, and the last thing I expected was to be dragged into something like this.

"For clarity, the conversation has been completely flipped out of context. Windass asked me to name a player who doesn't run over 10km in a game, and I responded honestly in that moment - it wasn't personal, nor was it meant to be disrespectful.

"It's frustrating to see things taken out of proportion when emotions are already high. I've always tried to conduct myself with honesty and respect, both on and off the pitch.

"All I want now is to move forward and focus on the next chapter of my career."