Sheffield Wednesday: Arsenal eye Southampton transfer swoop | OneFootball

The 21-year-old midfielder has caught the eye of one of Europe's elite clubs.

Sheffield Wednesday loanee Shea Charles is reportedly attracting the attention of Arsenal, who are looking at the Southampton man as a potential transfer option.

In what is Charles' second season in the Championship, 2024/25 is starting to feel like a breakout campaign. Under Danny Rohl, he has not just flourished himself, but allowed others to do so as well, as Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has been given a slightly more advanced role because of the 21-year-old's presence.

Even at that tender age, the Northern Irishman is now captaining his country at the men's level and is playing alongside fellow Owl, and his brother, Pierce Charles.

Having come from the Manchester City academy setup, it's no surprise to see Charles begin to blossom into what should be a fantastic footballer for many years to come. If all goes well, he may end up playing for one of his old club's biggest rivals.

Arsenal interested in Shea Charles

Spanish outlet Fichajes has reported that Arsenal are interested in the Southampton and Wednesday midfielder. Charles only joined the Saints last summer from City for an initial fee of £10.5 million, which could rise to £15 million, as per The Athletic.

If Arsenal were to go for him, they could either face competition from their rivals, who have battled with them for the Premier League title over the previous two campaigns, as the Citizens have matching bid rights and a buy-back clause for Charles, or they may financially benefit City as they also have a sell-on clause included in their deal with Southampton, according to The Athletic.

The Gunners' Spanish boss, Mikel Arteta, is keen on bringing in young talent that will set the club up for the future as well as the present, Fichajes states, and Charles would fit perfectly into that project.

Any successful bid for the midfielder, if it were to come in January, would mean that Charles would leave the Owls early. An accepted bid from the likes of Arsenal isn't the only scenario in which the 21-year-old would not see out his full scheduled loan tenure at Hillsborough.

Wednesday boss Danny Rohl previously confirmed that Southampton do have the option to recall Charles in the January window. The Saints sit bottom of the Premier League on four points from 11 games. Their poor form combined with their midfielder's strong performances likely increases the threat of him being pulled away from Wednesday in the winter window.

Shea Charles interest should come as no surprise to Sheffield Wednesday or Southampton

Rohl, being the smart manager that he is, will have quickly realised the quality of player that he had signed late in the summer window, and it didn't take long for it to become apparent to the crowds.

Charles wasn't quite as eye-catching last season in a promotion-hunting Southampton side that still had a lot of Premier League quality players in it, but in this Wednesday team he does sometimes feel like the centrepiece, literally and figuratively.

If the Saints midfielder does end up leaving Hillsborough in the first month of 2025, whether it be to go back to St Mary's or maybe somewhere a bit bigger, like the Emirates, it will leave Rohl and his team with the very difficult task of replacing him. But they will understand that he's destined for bigger things than mid-table in the Championship.