"Would be a coup" - Pundit offers Shea Charles prediction as Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United battle | OneFootball

The Southampton youngster was recalled last week, and his future is now up in the air.

Carlton Palmer has backed Sheffield Wednesday to win the battle for Shea Charles after he was recalled by Southampton last week, but believes it may come at a cost.

The Owls are currently 11th in the Championship table, and Danny Rohl has got his team performing excellently on the pitch for the most part, despite some poor results here and there.

January has been a difficult month for the German, however, and off-field issues have stolen the headlines despite some superb performances from the playing staff.

The aforementioned Charles was recalled by Southampton last week during a controversial fans forum where Chansiri claimed he was not good enough to play for Southampton in the Premier League, and he has now returned to the Saints.

However, Sheffield Wednesday still have a chance of bringing the 21-year-old back to Hillsborough, but they face competition from bitter rivals Sheffield United now.

Carlton Palmer issues Shea Charles prediction with transfer saga set to ensue

Charles played 25 games for the Owls before he was recalled, scoring once while also registering an assist. He has been used by Rohl in both the centre of midfield, and slightly deeper, proving his versatility.

It is clear that Southampton have an excellent young player on their hands, and he will be important for them if they continue at their current pace and are relegated back to the Championship at the end of the season.

But his short-term future is still undecided, and speaking exclusively to Football League World, former England and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Palmer believes that the Owls do have a good chance of keeping hold of the 21-year-old, but it could prove costly once the campaign comes to an end.

Palmer told FLW: "Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl are reportedly pushing to try to beat Sheffield United to a loan deal for Shea Charles.

"It's strange that Southampton have recalled him. I think this is probably to do with the managerial situation at Southampton as they were keen to bring Rohl to their football club. It's all a mess at the moment.

"Charles has enjoyed his time at Sheffield Wednesday, he’s been outstanding for them and Sheffield United will not be the only club that's looking at him, but it's strange that Southampton, being in the position that they're in, have recalled the player.

"Obviously, I feel that's to do with the situation surrounding their interest in Rohl and Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder has said that they're interested in the player and other clubs are as well. He’s had an excellent season."

Palmer continued: "They're playing a left-back (Harrison Burrows) in central midfield, so he'd like to bring a player in of that stature. Of course, for Charles, if he leaves a football club, he'd want to go to a club that's going to be doing well in the league and Sheffield United are pushing for automatic promotion.

"I'll be very, very surprised if Southampton sold him because they're going to be in the Championship next season, and he's proven to be a top performer.

"But maybe Shea Charles will go back to Southampton and talk about Rohl, and they might look at that and pay the £5m and get Rohl in next season.

"It would be a coup if Charles returned to Sheffield Wednesday for the rest of the season, but it might be one of those where a deal is struck so that Charles comes back to the end of the season on the basis that Rohl’s allowed to leave with Charles and go to Southampton in the summer. That might be a deal that's struck, but who knows?

"The Sheffield Wednesday supporters won't be happy with me for saying that, and I'm not happy about saying that because, obviously, I want to see Rohl to stay at the football club."

Sheffield Wednesday will have to battle hard for Shea Charles

While the decision to bring Charles back to Sheffield Wednesday seems a simple one, the Owls are facing difficulty with competition rife.

Rohl has stated that it is "50/50" as to whether the midfielder rejoins, and they have been given the ultimatum that they must match Southampton’s demands for the player's wages and a loan fee before the end of Thursday.

Chansiri commented during the forum last week that he believed that Charles is not ready to play for the Saints yet, but the youngster remains keen on returning to S6.

The saga that has ensued over the course of the last few days has been hugely frustrating for Rohl and will have also been a distraction for him and his coaching team ahead of their clash with QPR this weekend.