Football League World
·6 August 2024
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·6 August 2024
Sheffield Wednesday duo Bailey Cadamarteri and Pierce Charles are both attracting loan interest from League One.
It has been a busy summer for Sheffield Wednesday after they secured survival in the Championship.
The Owls looked destined to make an immediate return to League One after a disastrous start to last season under Xisco Munoz, but they achieved safety following a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl as they finished 20th in the table.
Wednesday received a huge boost when Rohl signed a new long-term contract in May, and the German has wasted no time in getting to work on rebuilding his squad, with nine new signings arriving at Hillsborough so far this summer.
Liam Palmer, Dominic Iorfa, Di'Shon Bernard, Barry Bannan and Josh Windass have all signed new deals, but Cameron Dawson and Will Vaulks have departed after rejecting the offer of an extension, while Ciaran Brennan, Reece James, George Byers, Tyreeq Bakinson, Juan Delgado and Lee Gregory have been released.
There are likely to be plenty more incomings and outgoings for the Owls before the end of the transfer window, and two players attracting interest from elsewhere are striker Bailey Cadamarteri and goalkeeper Pierce Charles.
Cadamarteri is reportedly on the radar of League One sides Wrexham, Huddersfield Town, Stockport County and Blackpool, as well as Scottish Premiership duo Motherwell and Dundee United, and the Red Dragons are currently said to be leading the race, while Charles has been the subject of an enquiry from Crawley Town.
Wednesday have high hopes for Cadamarteri and Charles, and although there is no doubt that both could benefit from a season playing regular football in the third tier, they should take different stances when deciding the futures of two of their brightest talents.
After making his senior league debut in November, Cadamarteri enjoyed an excellent breakthrough campaign at Hillsborough last season, scoring five goals and providing one assist in 25 appearances in all competitions to help the Owls to survival.
Cadamarteri's impressive form at club level earned him a first call-up to the England under-19's squad in March, but his game time became a little more limited in the second half of the season after the arrival of Ike Ugbo on loan from Troyes.
The 19-year-old started just four times in the final three months of the campaign, raising question marks about how much he will feature this season, and with Wednesday expected to bring in at least one new striker before the end of the window, Rohl refused to rule out a loan move for Cadamarteri.
"Bailey helped us a lot this season in a very difficult moment," Rohl told The Star.
"He showed his quality and strength and then in the second half it was a little up and down with some injuries and not so many minutes. This is normal, he came from the academy, he took big steps forward. Now it is about making him ready for the next season.
"He had a good opportunity against Salzburg where he showed his quality. But he should still improve, this is important now. Now we will see what is the best for Bailey at the moment there is no question mark, we want to improve him, help him, bring him onto the next level. That was the reason we extended his contract last season."
Wrexham, Huddersfield, Stockport and Blackpool could all be among the promotion contenders in League One next season, so any of those four clubs would be a good destination for Cadamarteri, and a year playing in a competitive and physical division would be ideal for his development.
Given the lack of strikers currently at the club, some Owls supporters are reluctant to see Cadamarteri leave, but while the club should keep hold of him until they are able to strengthen, they should sanction a loan move later in the window.
Cadamarteri is a player with huge potential, underlined by the fact that a number of Premier League sides were keeping tabs on him earlier this summer, and a loan spell in the third tier would perfectly prepare him to become a regular starter for Wednesday in the 2025-26 season.
While Wednesday should be willing to allow Cadamarteri to leave on loan, they should have reservations about taking the same approach with Charles.
Charles made his debut for Wednesday in the 1-1 draw against Coventry City in the FA Cup in January before starting again in the replay the following month, and he did not look out of place on either occasion.
The 19-year-old received his first senior call-up for Northern Ireland at international level this summer, and he impressed for the Owls during pre-season, making a number of impressive saves in the game against Werder Bremen last month.
Rohl revealed in April that he is a big admirer of Charles, telling The Star: "Pierce for me is a fantastic goalkeeper. He has a lot of good things that I like, he can keep the ball in possession, he’s good in open play, he’s good building up from the back. He’s a good goalkeeper and I like him."
With competition for places from Beadle and Hamer, it seems unlikely that Charles will receive many minutes this season, so Wednesday may understandably be tempted to send him out on loan to play regular football.
However, it could be argued that Charles is already first team ready, and should he perform well during a loan spell elsewhere, he could potentially attract interest from bigger clubs, which would make the Owls vulnerable to losing him.
Wednesday may also have reservations about loaning him to Crawley, who are among the relegation favourites in League One this season after a summer that has seen them lose a host of key players following promotion, including the likes of Corey Addai, Will Wright, Liam Kelly, Klaidi Lolos and Danilo Orsi.
Scott Lindsey's possession-based style of play would be perfectly suited to Charles given his excellent ability with the ball at his feet, but should the Red Devils have the season of struggle that many are predicting for them, a loan stint at the Broadfield Stadium could do him more harm than good.
With that in mind, Wednesday should keep Charles at the club this season and prepare him to take over from Beadle as their number one goalkeeper next summer.