"You never know" - Danny Rohl casts doubt over Sheffield Wednesday player's post-January future | OneFootball

The German boss is a bit worried about whether he will be able to keep the youngster until the end of the season.

Danny Rohl has cast doubts over whether Sheffield Wednesday will be able to keep Southampton loanee Shea Charles for the whole season.

Bringing in the young Northern Irishman was one of the last things that the Owls did in the transfer market. Most of their business was done early doors, but the opening few games of the season prompted them to make a move for the holding midfielder.

Charles, 20, already had a decent amount of experience at the Championship level before moving to South Yorkshire for the 2024/25 campaign, linking up with his younger brother Pierce, who is on the books at Hillsborough as a goalkeeper.

After joining the Saints from Manchester City last summer, he was used by boss Russell Martin 32 times in the league - just under half of those occasions were starts though.

Wednesday's form has been mixed since Charles arrived, but there's no doubt that he has quickly settled into his role in Rohl's system, which has allowed the likes of Barry Bannan to get further up the pitch and show off the attacking traits that he possesses.

Danny Rohl speaks out on Shea Charles, Southampton loan agreement

The Northern Ireland international has been praised by his temporary boss for the quick impact that he has had on the Owls. But, with loan moves, these encouraging signs can also be a bit worrying.

Temporary deals often have a January break clause in them, allowing the parent club to recall the player in the winter window if they so choose.

Wednesday have previously been beneficiaries of this, namely last January when they brought in James Beadle, who had been on loan with Oxford United in League One up until then.

Southampton's manager said that he'd like Charles to get a full season of football in away from St Mary's, but, with the way they've been playing since going up to the Premier League, they may need Charles' help come the winter, which leaves Rohl in a vulnerable position.

"Hopefully we can keep him the whole season - you never know what happens if he performs in this direction," the German manager told The Star.

"For me, he is a great player and you see what it means when you bring quality players in. This is the difference in this league."

Rohl further added: "There is a reason why I wanted to bring him here. I felt we needed exactly such a key player in the middle of the pitch. He is a good cover with Barry and we come more and more together.

"It all means Barry has some freedom and can attack again. It's the reason why he (Bannan) has goals and assists because he knows Shea is always working hard in both directions.

"He is strong with and against the ball, he is very good as a holding six. He understands where he has to cover, winning balls, accelerating the game."

Shea Charles' underlying impact on Sheffield Wednesday will become more clear

The results since the first game of the season against Plymouth Argyle - a game that took place before the 20-year-old had signed - haven't been good.

Wednesday have taken seven points from as many games so far this season, but the performances have been better since the international break. That just so happened to coincide with Charles' full integration into the team.

His first match for the club was in the 3-0 loss to Millwall. Wednesday have been unlucky to only pick up four points in their three games since then, though.

Some better last minute defending and some questionable refereeing decisions going their way could have left them with maximum points from their most recent trio of matches. That's a big turnaround from where they were against Millwall.

The understated impact he has made on this team will start to become more widely recognised when they begin to pick up more points and climb the league table.