(Credit: Imago, Hasan Karim - Breaking Media)

Oliver Walton

Wed 20 August 2025 17:07, UK

Sheffield Wednesday have been handed a boost in their desire to hold on to highly-rated goalkeeper Pierce Charles this summer despite major concerns over his fitness.

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The desperate situation at Sheffield Wednesday has seen a number of players leave for pastures new this summer, while numerous members of playing and backroom staff have gone three months without being paid due to controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri’s shortfalls.

The Hillsborough outfit’s squad has taken a battering, with Djeidi Gassama leaving to join Rangers, while Josh Windass moved to Wrexham after leaving at the end of his contract, and Anthony Musaba left for Turkish side Samsunspor.

Wednesday’s Championship campaign was previously in doubt, but they have been able to begin the new season and young stopper Charles has been a standout in all three games across league and cup so far.

Charles has been targeted by West Ham and Rangers in recent weeks, but the Owls have rejected approaches from each team for his services, and they will now surely be set to hold onto him this summer after a new development has emerged.

(Credit: Imago)

Charles suffered what was believed to be a minor shoulder injury in training last week, and went on to feature in the Owls’ loss to Stoke City on Saturday (16 August) despite uncertainty around his issue.

The Star (20 August) have now reported that there is concern among those behind the scenes at Hillsborough that Charles’ injury is more serious than they first thought, and there are worries that he is set to face a spell on the sidelines in recovery.

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That will serve as a major setback to Wednesday’s already slim second-tier survival hopes, with The Star also reporting that they are looking into signing an emergency goalkeeper to provide cover in his absence, but his injury does also have somewhat of a silver lining to it.

(Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)

If he is set to be out for an extended period, then neither West Ham or Rangers are likely to return with another bid to sign him anytime soon, which is a positive in the long-term for the Owls, as he could well play a part for them later on in the campaign and potentially into next season too.

Charles massively impressed against Leicester recently, and his standout performance at the King Power Stadium was likely a catalyst for those interested clubs to push to make a concrete approach for his services ahead of the upcoming transfer deadline.

Their “£1m+” bids fell well short of Wednesday’s valuation of his services, however, and now they can likely plan ahead for the 20-year-old to remain in South Yorkshire for the foreseeable future as he recovers from his shoulder problem.

While they have received a short-term reprieve in likely being able to keep Charles past the summer window’s September deadline, the Owls will still need to be rational about his future and the likelihood of him staying for a number of years into the future.

While it is often tough to measure a young player’s ceiling in the game when they are only just breaking into senior football, what can be obvious is their current level of ability, and Charles is clearly ready to be a number one in the second-tier right now, with the potential to massively improve too.

AppearancesGoals concededClean sheets18271Charles’ Sheffield Wednesday career stats

He has eight international caps at just 20-years-old, so it is clear that he is already a top keeper in his own right, and someone who could go on to become a Premier League regular in the years to come, with the pedigree to do coming from his time spent in the Man City academy as a youth player.

This injury will serve as a big setback to his progress, but with Wednesday set to struggle to avoid relegation this season, he still seems likely to leave at some point soon, just not this summer.

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