Sheffield Wednesday can’t be shocked at £30m Southampton transfer news | OneFootball

Former Owls loanee Shea Charles is on the cusp of a return to the Premier League

Sheffield Wednesday supporters will have their full focus on the current rebuild taking place at Hillsborough following relegation to League One in well-documented circumstances, as well as David Storch's takeover.

The Owls will be hoping that, this time, their stay in the third tier of English football lasts far less than the three seasons it took the club to gain promotion through the play-offs back in 2023, although the summer transfer activity, as well as results throughout pre-season, have generated mixed responses on that front.

However, whilst the fanbase at Hillsborough has often been a divided one in recent times, all Wednesdayites would likely come together in unison to agree on the fact that former loanee and Northern Ireland international, Shea Charles, is worth £30m at this moment in time as he is set to leave Southampton and return to the Premier League with Fulham,

Shea Charles' ceiling was enhanced by stellar Sheffield Wednesday loan in 2024/25

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Whilst recent years have seen off-pitch drama take up many of the headlines in this part of the Steel City, the 2024/25 Championship season was, on the whole, a largely positive season for the Owls in comparison to what had gone before and has followed since, even if its final weeks were also impacted by Dejphon Chansiri's mismanagement.

After signing from Manchester City for £15m in the summer of 2023, the all-action midfielder impressed massively in Saints' play-off winning season under Russell Martin, but whilst plenty of other first-teamers received a chance of featuring in the top-flight as the South Coast club accrued just 12 points, Charles' development was enhanced by Danny Rohl.

Formerly of Southampton himself, the German saw the 22-year-old as a midfield lynchpin alongside the experience of Barry Bannan, and it was a partnership full of complements in terms of the pair's attributes.

Indeed, so impressive were Charles' performances, just months into his loan spell, he was linked with a move from his parent club to Arsenal, with Rohl stating: "If he is linked with big teams, I’m not sure how many players at Sheffield Wednesday were linked with big teams.

"The pity is that he is not our player. If he’s our player, fantastic. But when I decided in the summer to take him, I saw something in him. He’s got a lot of minutes, he deserves it," he added.

Playing in the same team as his brother, Pierce, who has since left Hillsborough himself, the 35-time international scored once and set up five more goals in 44 games, but most importantly, was named as the club's Player of the Year, which is still a key reason as to why he is held in such high regard.

Shea Charles' 2025/26 season only increased focus on his high potential at Southampton

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Although not a product of the club's infamous Staplewood academy, Charles has been plying his trade for a club known for bleeding through some of the UK's hottest talents over time, such as Luke Shaw, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale.

And, after his loan spell in South Yorkshire, the Mancunian only went from strength-to-strength last season at St Mary's, particularly after the appointment of Tonda Eckert last November, and even in spite of the Spygate scandal which brought such an impressive run of form to an abrupt end.

Charles, of course, netted against Liverpool in the EFL Cup, but, like the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Leo Scienza, caught the eye in the famous 2-1 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final, where his winner sent the second tier club to Wembley.

Since then, a plethora of clubs in the Premier League have been linked with his services, including those who could offer European football, which makes it somewhat surprising that it is the Cottagers who have had a £30m deal agreed for the midfielder's signature.

Shea Charles' valuation has split opinions throughout drawn-out transfer saga

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The aforementioned deal will reportedly see the Northern Irishman agree a five-year deal at Craven Cottage, but throughout a long-standing transfer saga, Charles' valuation has certainly split opinion.

It is no real surprise, though, that Southampton have been looking to increase the price, which came to the fore, in particular, amid interest from Leeds United, with the midfielder also out-of-contract at St Mary's in June 2027 as things stand.

Of course, Saints could have risked retaining Charles in the hope that he would sign a new deal, or if they failed to reach the Premier League for another year and he continued to impress, the club would have likely made an automatic loss due to the chance of a club higher up the pyramid swooping through a pre-contract agreement.