Sheffield Wednesday are demanding a huge fee for goalkeeper Pierce Charles, despite the club’s financial issues.
Charles has been one of very few positives for the club in 2025, with the 20-year-old playing out the latter eight matches of the 2024/25 season. With interest coming from several clubs across the English, and Scottish, leagues, Wednesday would do very well to hold on to one of their biggest assets.
However, with Sheffield Wednesday financially on its knees, it’s hard to believe that they have the capacity to demand such a high fee.
Charles sees out the season for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday dropped from 8th to 14th between February and April, and form suggested that the freefall would continue. Following back-to-back wins against Plymouth and Norwich in March, fans were left wondering whether the club could turn their season around in the final months of the campaign. A loss against city rivals Sheffield United, however, felt like the final nail in the coffin for the Owls’ season, convincing manager Danny Röhl that a change was needed.
Birmingham City loanee James Beadle was one of a few players dropped in the following games. Sheffield Wednesday gave Pierce Charles the chance to be the club’s starting goalkeeper and hoped that he would be able to help prevent any more embarrassing defeats.
The Yorkshire side had a relatively simple final eight matches for the 20-year-old keeper to see out, just two of those games being against teams who would finish in the top-half of the league. Only one win would be achieved in those eight matches, with four draws and three losses. Zero clean sheets in eight matches, including several opponents that were threatened with relegation, was rather damning for Wednesday.
Pierce Charles avoided embarrassment, conceding no more than one goal in six of those matches, and two in his others. He was also statistically an improvement on James Beadle, keeping a save percentage of 66.7% versus Beadle’s 60.7%. Charles’s underlying numbers were undoubtedly bolstered by his easier opposition than those who Beadle played against in his final few matches.
What would not complement Beadle further would be his post-shot xG performance, which suggested that Beadle should have conceded roughly five fewer goals than he did, while the same statistic suggested that Pierce Charles should have conceded 2.7 more.
Championship clubs in for the Sheffield Wednesday keeper
As per Alan Nixon, through his Patreon feed, League rivals Leicester City and Southampton are just two of the teams wanting Pierce Charles. Both clubs are wanting to strengthen their depth in defence to ensure that the flood of conceded goals does not continue following their relegation from the Premier League.
Rangers are also in for Sheffield Wednesday’s keeper, despite Jack Butland’s impressive performances towards the end of last season. Wherever Charles goes, it is unlikely that he will make an instant impact, likely entering as a second-choice option.
The presumption that he won’t be a starter is just one of the reasons why Sheffield Wednesday’s asking price of £8m is quite ridiculous. The EFL have already hinted that Wednesday need to make player sales in order to comply with financial requirements set by the league’s governing body, leaving the club very little power when it comes to negotiating deals.
Outstanding player wages have now been paid, however, meaning that player contracts are again intact. This, and the fact that Pierce Charles is the club’s only goalkeeper in the senior team, has given the club a reason to demand such significant fees; however even if the club does receive Charles’ full £8 million valuation, they face a fee restriction until the 2026/27 winter transfer window.