Danny Rohl has hinted that one Sheffield Wednesday youngster could be closing in on a place in the first team.
The German manager has already given Bailey Cadamarteri his big break, which has since earned him a new contract with the Owls.
Sheffield Wednesday have one of the oldest starting line-ups in the Championship, occupied by the likes of Barry Bannan and Marvin Johnson.
However, Danny Rohl looks to be taking a big focus on bringing youth through and has already acted on his words by bringing Bailey Cadamarteri into the picture.
The 18-year-old made his senior debut in the EFL Trophy last year, but had since been left out of the first team by Darren Moore.
Rohl has been impressed with Cadamarteri since arriving at the club and handed him his first Championship start against Leicester City, before he netted his first goal for the club against Blackburn Rovers days later.
With a new deal under his belt, Cadamarteri now looks set to make his mark on the first team this season.
While Rohl does have a number of young players at his disposal, such as Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama, the 34-year-old could still make use of the Owls’ academy to help boost his squad.
Rohl has admitted that he is keeping an ‘eye’ on one academy star in Sam Reed.
The defender joined Sheffield Wednesday from Brighouse Town in the summer and spent some time training with the first team, before returning to the U21 side where he has really impressed.
Reed will now be looking to force his way into the senior set-up like Cadamarteri, while Rohl has suggested he could be given a chance.
Speaking on Reed to The Star, Rohl said: “We’ve had training together.
“We did the same with Bailey. With Bailey we trained and I got a feeling for the player, and then I saw that he was ready for minutes as a sub and then into the starting XI – I think that’s a good process. We have this eye on the young players, and they know what I demand from them.
“I’ve spoken in front of them, I did that in the international break, and I have always an eye on the young players. Also, with Neil, I have a good link with the U21s and this is the process. Maybe when the time is right I’ll bring the next young player through to the first team.”
Can Sheffield Wednesday’s academy link up with the first team now?
Danny Rohl will be sure to balance his introduction of U21 players to the squad, given that things have been looking on the up recently.
The German’s main focus needs to be keeping Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship, and he will know that some matches aren’t meant to be for testing out the younger players.
One opportunity for Sam Reed could be next month’s FA Cup clash against Cardiff City, but even just bringing him into training with the first team could really benefit the 20-year-old.
One thing we can guarantee is that Bailey Cadamarteri’s promotion to the senior squad will excite the other academy players and hopefully will push them to try and follow in his footsteps.