The impact made by Sheffield Wednesday loanee Shea Charles has been lauded by Owls boss Danny Röhl – who did admit just a pinch of concern over a January recall clause when detailing the quality he has brought to his side.
The Northern Ireland international was brought to Hillsborough on a season-long loan from Premier League Southampton in August and has taken plaudits for an eye-catching start to life in the Wednesday midfield.
Club captain Barry Bannan spoke last week on the transformative effect he has had on his game in allowing the Scot to roam more freely up the pitch while delivering his own impressive output.
A man of the match outing in their win over West Brom on Saturday drew more praise, the 20-year-old taking home man of the match champagne having played a star role in the 3-2 win over the table-toppers.
Röhl spoke at the outset of his switch from the south coast to express his excitement at the deal, which Wednesday completed in the final week of the summer transfer window amid huge competition from a number of rival suitors. Four matches into his time with the Owls, Charles is living up to the hype.
“There is a reason why I wanted to bring him here,” Röhl told The Star. “I felt we needed exactly such a key player in the middle of the pitch. He is a good cover with Barry and we come more and more together, it all means Barry has some freedom and can attack again.
It’s the reason why he (Bannan) has goals and assists because he knows Shea is always working hard in both directions. He is strong with and against the ball, he is very good as a holding six. He understands where he has to cover, winning balls, accelerating the game.”
Continuing his praise of the former Manchester City youngster, Röhl spoke in relaxed tones but did admit a degree of nervousness with regard to the possibility of Southampton calling him back to the club in January, such has been the quality shown in the first outings of his Owls career.
January break clauses are a standard addition in modern loan deals, though at the completion of the loan switch in August, Saints boss Russell Martin spoke about the desire to have Charles head out for a season’s experience getting regular minutes. Wednesday will hope that remains the plan.
“Hopefully we can keep him the whole season – you never know what happens if he performs in this direction,” Röhl admitted. “For me, he is a great player and you see what it means when you bring quality players in. This is the difference in this league.
All in all we need a team performance every day, every week and it is all about the team. Team first, this is the clear message today. Without the team we have no chance to win games, it was a team performance. If we can cut out the individual mistakes then we are in a good way.”
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