Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has challenged one of his exciting young players to step up to the ‘next level’.
Sheffield Wednesday drew with Brentford in the Carabao Cup in midweek, coming from behind against a very strong Bees XI before losing on penalties.
Owls fans were delighted with the performance. As was Danny Rohl who spoke fondly of his players and their performance after the game.
There was especially praise among fans for the club’s younger trio who started the game; Pierce Charles in goal, Gabriel Otegbayo in defence, and Sean Fusire in midfield.
Joe Crann hailed Fusire’s performance for Sheffield Wednesday whilst Otegbayo was the talk of many Wednesday fans on social media.
Elsewhere, Charles was named Sheffield Wednesday’s Man of the Match after making a string of saves, also looking very comfortable in possession with the most touches and completed passes of any Owls player on the night.
Danny Rohl’s challenge for Pierce Charles at Sheffield Wednesday
Speaking to The Star, Rohl has discussed the fight for the no.1 spot between Charles and Brighton loan man James Beadle, insisting that Beadle remains the no.1 choice.
Having now played Charles in every Carabao Cup game, Rohl said of the Northern Ireland international: “There’s a long way to go and at the moment we have a number one with James. But we know he [Beadle] is just a loan.
“We want to improve him [Charles]. I think it was helpful in the last weeks and months that we had cup games to give him opportunities against League One, League Two, Championship and now a team at Premier League level.”
Rohl then urged Charles to get to the ‘next level’ in his development, with the aid of himself and Owls goalkeeper coach Sal Bibbo.
Rohl continued: “I am very proud of him [Charles] and his improvement. I think we worked very close with Sal [Bibbo] and we see something in him, but let’s see how we can bring him to the next level.”
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Could Pierce Charles leave Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January?
Sheffield Wednesday fielded loan interest for Charles during the summer, with Rohl keeping the 19-year-old in S6 owing to a previous injury to Ben Hamer.
Now with Hamer fit again, and with Rohl not budging on the fact that Beadle is the no.1, a loan exit could be ideal for Charles in January.
Rohl said during the summer that he wanted Charles to go to a club that plays similar football and that could be the difficult part.
Finding a club lower down in the Football League that plays out from the back, similarly to Sheffield Wednesday, could prove tricky.
But if Charles is to be the no.1 for next season then he needs some more first-team exposure, and only a loan move can give him that right now.
For the time being, though, competing with Beadle and working with Bibbo seems to be doing Charles a lot of good.