Cautious Sheffield Wednesday reaction given to Preston exploits - But 'I definitely want to see him start ahead of Ike Ugbo' | OneFootball

Charlie McNeill scored twice for Sheffield Wednesday in their 3-2 home loss to Preston, but FLW's fan pundit remains cautious over his future.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield Wednesday forward Charlie McNeill had an eventful afternoon in his team's 3-2 home defeat against Preston North End, but there is caution over whether this means that he's turned a corner.

Sheffield Wednesday had another disappointing afternoon at Hillsborough on Saturday, losing 3-2 at home to Preston North End despite having led 1-0 and 2-1.

It was an eventful afternoon for the struggling Championship club, and one player who had a particularly eventful afternoon was forward Charlie McNeill, who scored twice in the first 15 minutes and then had a second half penalty kick saved by the Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen before the visitors went on to snatch all three points.

At a time when Wednesday have been struggling in almost every department on the pitch, McNeill's two goals offered a little something to be optimistic about for the future following more than year with the club, during which he has been unable to tie down a regular place in the first team.

"I'm not going to get carried away" - cautious optimism that Charlie McNeill can grow as a player following Preston brace

Football League World have spoken to our resident Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit about Charlie McNeill, and Patrick was happy that McNeill had put in an accomplished performance: "It was very pleasing to see Charlie McNeill get two goals yesterday in a game, and his all-round performance was very good, even with the penalty miss. We have been waiting a long time to see this from him."

But Patrick is wary about going overboard with the brace, as Wednesday have found themselves in this position before with this particular player: "I did think when he got those two goals on his debut against Hull that he would kick on, but it never happened for him. I do know that he didn't get a lot of game time last season or even this season, and I'm sure that's not without reason. Danny Rohl will have seen him in training and was good enough to start he'd have made more appearances. Cadamarteri was never held back."

With one eye on the future, Patrick does believe that a run in the team could be good for McNeill, especially if relegation at the end of this season is already a foregone conclusion. He is also eager to see McNeill start over the ever-misfiring Ike Ugbo, who is remarkably approaching his 50th consecutive league appearance without a goal for the Owls: "I want to take a positive view of this and I think that he could kick on, but I do have to have that bit of caution as well. However, I would like to see him get a few more starts to see if he can kick on and get a few more goals, because if he can get his confidence up then it could set him up for a good season in League One next year. I definitely want to see him start ahead of Ike Ugbo."

And he feels that Wednesday's current circumstances, in which relegation seems almost certain, takes the pressure off McNeill in a way that could benefit his development as a player: "I suppose we'll see what can happen from now. If he gets some regular game time and carries his confidence into the next game.

"I do want him to kick on, but I'm not going to get carried away on one performance and I don't think he will either. But it could be a positive for this season in that he could develop a bit more under the little pressure that Wednesday are under compared to other teams compared to other teams."

Charlie McNeill has a near-unique opportunity to prove himself at Sheffield Wednesday

Charlie McNeill certainly had an explosive start to his time with Sheffield Wednesday. He was only 27 seconds into his debut for them when he scored his first goal for the club against Hull City in the Carabao Cup, adding a second later in the game.

But McNeill was unable to break into the Wednesday first team under Danny Rohl last season. He made just four Championship appearances, all of which came from the bench, and one further appearance in the Carabao Cup.

Of course, Wednesday's circumstances changed drastically over the summer with a transfer embargo put in place, and McNeill has been a far more regular starter this season, having played 15 times for them in the League, with a further two appearances in the Carabao Cup. The goals that he scored against Preston on Saturday were the first that he'd managed for the club since his debut in August 2024.

There's no doubt that McNeill has the potential. He scored over 600 goals at youth level, and in September 2020 Manchester United were persuaded enough by him to pay Manchester City £750,000 for his services. But McNeill was unable to break into the United first team and his appearances for the club were limited to the EFL Trophy.

Now 22 years of age, Charlie McNeill's career hasn't yet ignited in the way that he perhaps imagined it would. But the condition of Sheffield Wednesday this season, highly limited in terms of who they can play, is offering him an opportunity to shine in a way that might not have been possible otherwise.

If he can use this experience to grow as a player and kick on, Sheffield Wednesday could find themselves with quite a talent on their hands. This hasn't quite happened yet, but his performance against Preston on Saturday was a reminder of what he could be capable of. It's now down to him to take full advantage and demonstrate why only six years ago he was subject to a tug-of-war between two of English football's biggest clubs.