Sheffield Wednesday: Danny Rohl reveals stance on James Beadle, Pierce Charles debate | OneFootball

The Owls have two brilliant goalkeepers to pick from.

Danny Rohl has weighed into the debate surrounding his goalkeeper situation at Sheffield Wednesday, as both James Beadle and Pierce Charles continue to impress.

It's very rare that a club will have two keepers of a similar age on their books that represent their respective countries at the youth international level. Luckily for Wednesday, they have that exact predicament.

Beadle, 20, and Charles, 19, are both well-capped at said level, but the latter of the two recently made his senior debut for Northern Ireland in the most recent international break. Charles started both games against Belarus and Northern Luxembourg alongside his brother and Wednesday teammate, Shea.

The Owls' defensive record this season isn't 100% reflective of the options that they have between the sticks. Wednesday, who also have veteran shot-stopper Ben Hamer in their ranks, have conceded the third-most goals of any team in the Championship after the first 15 games of the season.

Beadle, who is with Wednesday on a season-long loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion, has started all of those league matches. The number of goals shipped and the recent performances of his understudy on the international stage has raised the question over who is actually the better goalkeeper.

That debate has been settled pretty quickly by the actions of the manager.

Danny Rohl clarifies Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper position

Rohl reaffirmed Beadle's position as the club's number one goalkeeper when speaking to the media ahead of his side's early Saturday kick-off against Cardiff City.

"We have three goalkeepers who are improving each other every day," said Rohl. "The group is good, you can see the challenge, over the last weeks the second competition was good for Pierce.

"James is my number one but it is good to see Pierce attack and it shows he is further up now and he is improving. Nobody accepts second or third positions, they all push each other, challenge each other but they have a great relationship."

Charles is yet to make his league debut for the Owls. He started all four of the club's EFL Cup matchups, including their last one against Premier League opponents Brentford. He had a 73% save rate across those ties, as per Sofascore - much higher than Beadle's 52% in the Championship so far this season.

Sheffield Wednesday have a tough Pierce Charles decision to make

Beadle was obviously brought in to be the number one. He was signed as a first choice when he was joined on a six-month loan last January, so there'd be no reason to bring him back on loan if Rohl wasn't intending on starting him.

Unless his performance drops off a cliff, the England under-21s glovesman will keep his spot in the first XI, but that leaves Wednesday with a dilemma. Based on the minutes he got in the EFL Cup, Charles is the likely replacement for Beadle if he were to get injured.

However, because of his age, now is a great time for him to further develop, which will be most enhanced by playing matches and regular minutes; that's not going to come this season with Wednesday.

They could loan him out, but would you choose to send your second best 'keeper away for development purposes and then risk regretting that decision if your back-up is needed? It's certainly a tough one to balance.

Charles' performances for Northern Ireland don't suggest that the current lack of first-team minutes has badly affected him, but, if he's their goalkeeper of the future, they will want to maximise his potential. Can that be done when he's sitting on the bench most weeks?