New club join race for Sheffield Wednesday's Pierce Charles - Rangers and West Ham have walked away | OneFootball

Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg have emerged as the latest side interested in the services of Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles

Pierce Charles' future at Sheffield Wednesday has been the subject of intense speculation amid interest from a host of top-flight clubs, with Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg the latest side to be linked with the highly-rated goalkeeper.

As reported on Friday afternoon via X by Mike McGrath of The Telegraph, Strasbourg are interested in completing a deal for the 20-year-old Owls shot-stopper.

This comes after McGrath revealed just yesterday how Wednesday had ignored bids north of £1 million from both Rangers and West Ham, with Charles emerging as a hot property in what has proved a disastrous summer for the South Yorkshire outfit.

The repeated failure of chairman Dejphon Chanisiri to pay both playing and non-playing staff, which occurred for the fourth time in just five months at the start of August, saw both Michael Smith and Josh Windass terminate their contracts in order to seal moves away from the club, whereas prized winger Djeidi Gassama also headed out of the door to join Rangers.

Charles, who featured on 13 occasions in the Championship last time out under ex-boss Danny Rohl, now represents the Owls' chief prized asset, and supporters will be hoping that Chansiri does not decide to cash in on his services before the end of this summer's transfer window.

Having since been elevated to first-choice for Henrik Pedersen following former loanee James Beadle's return to Brighton and Hove Albion, Charles has manned the sticks in each of his side's first two matches of the new season.

Strasbourg join transfer race for Sheffield Wednesday's Pierce Charles

The latest update from McGrath has disclosed interest from Strasbourg, who earned qualification to the UEFA Europa Conference League after securing a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1 under ex-Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior and are owned by BlueCo - who also own Premier League giants Chelsea, of course.

It remains unclear whether Strasbourg will meet Wednesday's asking price for Charles, which has reportedly been set at £8 million amid interest from newly-relegated duo Leicester City or Southampton, but what we do know is that they will have to lodge a more serious offer than Rangers and West Ham in order to enter negotiations with the Owls.

Given the presence of Rosenior, though, it's little surprise that Strasbourg are eyeing a deal for Charles, with the BlueCo-owned outfit having developed a reputation for having a young squad and developing a number of promising talents in recent times.

It would seem as though they are not facing competition from Rangers and West Ham either, as the pair have reportedly walked away from a deal after not receiving a response to their offerings.

Sheffield Wednesday must retain Pierce Charles amid Strasbourg interest

Although the focus in the remainder of the window will centre on trying to bring in much-needed additions to bolster what is a young, largely-inexperienced and threadbare squad at Pedersen's disposal, it's also hugely important that Wednesday retain talent such as Charles.

Still aged just 20, Charles is already a full international at senior level with Northern Ireland and, when fielded, has shown himself to be a more-than-capable Championship shot-stopper with extremely high potential.

Wednesday will want to see that potential realised within the Steel City, and while it does feel inevitable that Charles will leave for bigger and better things at some stage, keeping hold of him for at least one more season in order to maximise his value may be the best course of action for Pedersen's side.