Sheffield Wednesday intertwined in Man City turmoil as transfer broken down | OneFootball

Kieran Maguire provides insight into Man City's financial situation and how it could affect future Pierce Charles payments to Sheffield Wednesday.

All eyes are on Manchester City after the latest revelations about their finances, and Sheffield Wednesday will have a vested interest in the outcome.

City have been found guilty of the vast majority of the Premier League's 115 charges, although the club have strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

Speculation has been rife around the punishments that the eight-time Premier League champions could face, with suggestions ranging from a points deduction to stripped titles or even relegation.

The Owls and Man City did business over the summer, with Pierce Charles rejoining his boyhood club for an initial £3million plus add-ons, and now football finance expert Kieran Maguire has provided insight into what would happen to those future fees depending on if City were punished.

Kieran Maguire weighs in on Pierce Charles situation

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When Charles arrived at Hillsborough, there was always an expectation he would move on to bigger things, and over the summer he did just that by returning to his boyhood club.

The 21-year-old has since moved on loan to Championship outfit QPR, where he has become the club's number one, gaining valuable first-team experience with a side on the up.

Like Charles, several of Manchester City’s summer signings included add-ons, which would become payable if certain conditions are met in the future.

However, what would happen to those future fees for the Northern Irishman, or even for Caelen-Kole Cadamarteri and Romario Collins, whose deals are both believed to have add-ons, if City were relegated?

“All add-on fees are determined at the time of contract,” Maguire told The Star.

“Now there are consequential add-ons, and these might be whether any of these players go on to make their debut with City, make so many appearances, if they are sold by City, or what have you. Then Wednesday could, in theory, be given additional compensation for selling the players’ contracts to Manchester City.

“How does relegation for Manchester City impact that? It’s likely to say ‘10 appearances’, for example, rather than ‘10 appearances for Man City in the Premier League’. I’d be amazed if that was the case, but clearly, if Manchester City were to be relegated, then that part of the contract would not be triggered.”

What would happen if Man City were unable to fulfil Charles payments to Sheffield Wednesday?

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While much of the situation around Man City is hypothetical, in theory, there could be a scenario where the Premier League side is unable to pay clubs what they are owed.

Of course, when it comes to Charles, or any other players, for that matter, the obligations must first be met before Wednesday, or other clubs, should receive their money.

“If Manchester City fail to fulfil their obligations to Wednesday, one could only assume that they are either in administration or significant financial constraints,” Maguire added.

“Should that happen, Wednesday could report City to the Football Association, to the Premier League for breach of contract - and then sanctions would apply against Manchester City.

“We saw in the case of Sheffield United that they started the 2025/26 season with a points deduction due to the late payment of transfer fee instalments. So it could be that City would be subject to a transfer ban or so on.”

How have Sheffield Wednesday fans reacted to Charles news?

It would be fair to say that Wednesday supporters have been through it over the years, and some supporters have suggested action should be taken if things go wrong for City.

One even joked about what the club's lawyers could soon be purchasing given the astronomical numbers they could be involved with.

Another suggested that Charles could be returning to face the Owls sooner than he would have expected if the Cityzens are relegated.