Sheffield Wednesday will hope Swansea City developments don't dash Brighton transfer chances: View | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday completed a miraculous turnaround to secure survival on the final day of the Championship season.

The Owls beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Stadium of Light, and whilst goals from Liam Palmer and Josh Windass secured the victory, the efforts of James Beadle in goal handed Wednesday their third clean sheet in six games.

Wednesday's improvement in defence has been crucial to their resurgence under Danny Rohl, and since Beadle arrived on loan from Brighton in January, they've looked even more assured at the back.

The 19-year-old has conceded 24 goals in 19 Championship games for Wednesday, a marginally better figure than former Wednesday number one Cameron Dawson, who conceded 28 goals in 18 games.

But where Beadle has made the difference is in the number of clean sheets he has kept. The youngster has eight clean sheets to his name, double the amount Dawson managed.

Wednesday have been on the end of some heavy losses this season. But with Beadle in net, they have been more consistently capable of keeping teams quiet.

Beadle, though, is set to return to Brighton this summer and will be assessed in pre-season by Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian manager will take a look at Beadle and Carl Rushworth, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Swansea City this season, before deciding who to keep at the club.

Swansea manager Luke Williams has previously suggested he's confident Rushworth returns to South Wales next season, and should that happen, Wednesday's hopes of retaining Beadle would take a significant blow.

De Zerbi is unlikely to loan both players out again next season, and with the club having high hopes for the pair, a permanent deal for either is not seemingly on the cards, meaning Wednesday would need to look elsewhere for a goalkeeper.

Huddersfield and Ipswich drubbings take little shine off impressive loan for Beadle

Beadle endured a chastening start to life between the sticks for Wednesday as he saw relegation rivals Huddersfield Town stick four goals past him in just his third game for the club.

It would, however, be one of two minor blips on a near-perfect record for Beadle.

A 6-0 loss away to Ipswich Town as they marched towards promotion to the Premier League marked the only other time Beadle was truly outclassed in a Wednesday shirt, and his record aside from these two games reflects that.

Beadle conceded a combined 10 goals during those two games but would only concede 14 in the other 17 Championship games, a sign of his overriding consistency.

Beadle didn't miss a single game following his debut against Coventry City, and his importance to Wednesday's survival can't be overstated, regardless of whether they retain his services.

Beadle future out of Wednesday's hands with Rushworth set to return to Swansea

Rushworth signed a new long-term deal at Brighton before moving to Swansea last summer on a season-long loan deal and, whilst Swansea manager Williams says he expects the 22-year-old to become a Premier League keeper, he is confident of keeping him at the Swans for another season.

Rushworth played every minute for Swansea in a difficult season for the Welsh outfit - a string of strong performances has left Swansea keen to bring him back to the club.

Williams told the BBC in February that he thinks Rushworth will stay at Swansea for the 2024-25 season before going on to become a top-flight keeper: "I think he is going to be with us next season, of course, but, after that, he is going to go on and be a top Premier League keeper I am sure because of the quality he has but also the personality he has to go with it."

Should Rushworth return to Swansea, though, it would dash any hopes Wednesday had of bringing Beadle back to Hillsborough, with De Zerbi likely to want to keep either one of the keepers.

For Wednesday, it feels out of their hands and all they can do is hope that Brighton see a way in which both Rushworth and Beadle can benefit from loans away in 2024/25. They'll have everything crossed for a positive outcome.