Danny Rohl has admitted he really hopes that Sheffield Wednesday can get one ‘fantastic’ teenager to sign a new contract.
Sheffield Wednesday are approaching what could be an extremely stressful period of the year, though what happens depends on the remaining three games of the campaign.
Despite a resurgence under Danny Rohl, the Owls’ future in the Championship remains in doubt and they may not know whether they have been relegated until the final day.
The club’s focus on staying up has meant that most contract talks have been put on hold, despite over ten players seeing their current deals expire this summer.
Key players such as Barry Bannan, Di’Shon Bernard and Josh Windass could potentially be on their way out, but are still expected to battle relegation despite not knowing where they will be in just a few months time.
While they are yet to open negotiations with most of their first-team players, they are already deep in talks with one academy star.
Pierce Charles joined Sheffield Wednesday’s academy from Manchester City in 2021 and went onto sign his first professional contract the following year.
The 18-year-old made his senior debut in the FA Cup at the start of the year before playing in the replay two weeks later.
Charles hasn’t featured since but is very highly-rated at Middlewood Road, with the club eager to tie him down to a new contract.
It is believed the goalkeeper’s current deal expires in 2025 and the two parties have already begun initial talks, however it is believed that they have already stalled.
Danny Rohl hopes the Owls keep ‘fantastic’ gem
With Charles’ future in doubt, Rohl has spoken out on the young shot-stopper.
Speaking to The Star, the German coach said: “Pierce for me is a fantastic goalkeeper. He has a lot of good things that I like, he can keep the ball in possession, he’s good in open play, he’s good building up from the back. He’s a good goalkeeper and I like him.
“He has made some really good improvements and developments in the last months and from my side I hope he is part of my team in the new season. We have a good goalkeeper group with experience and two young boys. They also have experience themselves more and more. I watch how they train, the battle in training and they challenge themselves.
“I hope we can keep Pierce here and then we can think about what is important. If it makes sense to have him here or the time or whether we look to loan him. This is a different question, but we should try to keep him.”
Pierce Charles’ competition could all leave this summer
Sheffield Wednesday face losing a long list of players this summer, but one key position that may concern them is the goalkeeping department.
The Owls are facing a bit of a crisis in between the sticks, with James Beadle set to return to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of his loan spell.
Cameron Dawson islikely to leave Hillsborough on a free transfer, leaving Pierce Charles and 19-year-old Jack Hall as their only ‘keepers.
Given that Beadle is only a year older than him and has enjoyed great success at Wednesday, Charles will be eager to make his mark on the first team next season too.
It is extremely likely that the Owls will bring in some more experienced shot-stoppers though and could look to loan out the teenager instead, but first they will have to tempt him to remain at the club.
Wednesday’s current goalkeeper situation does give Charles a big opportunity to prove himself and the club need to convince him that he has a future with the senior squad if he puts pen to paper on a new deal.
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