Sheffield Wednesday face potential Pierce Charles exit fear as new PL development emerges | OneFootball

Pierce Charles remains a sought-after target for clubs with lofty ambitions

Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles remains the subject of transfer speculation amid intensified interest from clubs in the Premier League.

This is according to a fresh report from the Sheffield Star, who claim that at least one of the top flight clubs interested in the 19-year-old's signature have a real possibility of featuring in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Despite being one of the second tier's most sought-after young talents, Charles has ironically made more senior appearances for Northern Ireland than in the league for the Owls this term, where scouts from said clubs oversaw his performances over the course of the recent international break.

Wednesday are currently sat in 12th place in the second tier, five points behind West Bromwich Albion in the final play-off place with seven games of the season left to play.

Danny Rohl has already begun to utilise the shot-stopper's services as the campaign reaches it's final stretch. Although, based on the aforementioned report, Wednesdayites may only get to see Charles feature between the sticks on a handful of occasions, with the keeper tipped for an extremely bright future in the game.

Charles extended his spell at Hillsborough last summer, two years after signing his first professional contract with the club in May 2022.

Despite struggling to oust Brighton and Hove Albion loanee and England youth international, James Beadle, in terms of a regular spot in the side, that didn't stop clubs in the Premier League's upper reaches circling around the Manchester-born man prior to the most-recent transfer window, with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur just three of the sides who looked to make a move for Charles.

A move wouldn't come to fruition for the four-time international, who made his debut for Northern Ireland in October, six months before appearing in the Championship for the South Yorkshire side for the first time, which came in last weekend's 1-1 away draw at Cardiff City.

The man who has made seven further appearances for Wednesday in the EFL Cup and FA Cup since breaking into the first-team squad, also kept goal for his country in recent friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden, with the Star revealing that representatives from top-flight sides casting an eye on the youngster.

The publication's report also verified that some of those sides had weighed up a potential move for Charles in January and that their interest very much remains concrete, with at least one of the clubs currently among the plethora who are vying for a place in European football's most coveted competition.

With Villa, Liverpool and Spurs the sides who had shown the most concrete interest in Charles two months ago, it seems reasonable to predict that the first two of those clubs still have the keeper on their radar, given their positions in the Premier League table.

Arne Slot's side have led the way in the division all season, with a second title since 1989/90 now within touching distance for the Reds in the Dutchman's first season in charge at Anfield.

With it being reported in February that the Premier League looks set to guarantee fifth place as being a Champions League spot as a result of UEFA coefficient, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Unai Emery's side reignite their interest in Charles over the coming weeks and months.

Villa are now up to seventh in the table after a 3-0 victory against fellow European hopefuls Brighton on Wednesday night, with the West Midlands club developing a habit of recruiting some of the EFL and Europe's most exciting talents, with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers all previously sourced from the Championship.