Sheffield Wednesday set new 7-figure Pierce Charles price-tag as Dejphon Chansiri scrambles for cash | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday want a seven-figure fee to allow Pierce Charles to leave the club in January.

Sheffield Wednesday have set a new £4m price-tag on young goalkeeper Pierce Charles for January, as Dejphon Chansiri desperately searches for ways to raise funds.

The Owls picked up their first league win of the season on Saturday when they beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Fratton Park, which was a monumental achievement for the embargoed club.

However, one player who didn't feature in Wednesday's triumph was Charles, who played the opening two matches of the season between the sticks, before suffering a shoulder injury, which required surgery.

Despite this, interest in the 20-year-old is still expected to be rife in January, and a sale could reportedly be sanctioned for a hefty fee, to ensure that wages of the current squad are paid on time for the rest of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday looking for £4m for Pierce Charles in January as Dejphon Chansiri looks for cash injections

That's according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon Page, who revealed on Sunday that Sheffield Wednesday will be looking for around £4m in the January transfer window.

The troubled club are keen to raise funds to secure their immediate future, and fortunately have a huge asset in Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Charles, who could bring in the cash required in the winter.

The Owls have stayed afloat in the opening two months of the new campaign, as owner Dejphon Chansiri has reportedly found cash to pay the players for August, and will do the same for September.

However, the Thai businessman may not have the funds to pay players for the rest of the season, with just £5m of payments due from the EFL as the only source of income in January, according to the report by Nixon.

This has reportedly seen a £4m price tag placed on Charles' head for the winter transfer window, which is double what Wednesday had previously been quoted by interested parties for his services in the summer.

The injection of this cash would ensure that all players would be paid on time for the remainder of the season, and potentially prevent Chansiri from taking out a loan, which would be secured against the club's Hillsborough home.

Owls want Pierce Charles loan back if they sanction a sale in January

Charles' previous admirers in the summer transfer window were West Ham United and RC Strasbourg in France, but the 20-year-old went on to remain at the Steel City club, despite offers of around £2m for his services.

It's unclear whether a loan back clause was included in any of these offers, but according to Nixon, Sheffield Wednesday will be keen to ensure that is the case if a sale is sanctioned in January.

Not only has the asking price for the Northern Irishman doubled between windows, but they would also like him to remain at the club for the second half of the campaign, the journalist reported on Sunday.

It seems unlikely that Charles would go to a top-flight club who could pay this type of fee and be the first-choice keeper, so the Owls may be in luck with their demands, if they sell to a top-flight side who don't view the youngster as an immediate number one.