What Pierce Charles earns at Sheffield Wednesday as new transfer update emerges in wake of James Bord talks | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday may have to sell their highly-rated young goalkeeper should a takeover not be completed by the end of January.

Delays to the process of the takeover of Sheffield Wednesday could end up hurting the club in the January transfer window, even though James Bord has now been confirmed as their preferred buyer.

Marooned to the bottom of the Championship and with relegation already looking inevitable, Sheffield Wednesday fans had been hoping for a happier 2026 than their 2025 had been.

While the club has been in administration since the 24th October, it took two months for a preferred bidder to the club to be named, and this delay could now threaten the club's wellbeing in the January transfer window.

A consortium led by the former professional poker player James Bord, who had previously been involved at Sheffield United, has now been named as the preferred bidder, but the race will now be on to get that sale completed as soon as possible.

But while it had been hoped that a quick sale of the club would allow them to carry out some semblance of rebuilding in the upcoming window, it's also possible that the club could lose players if they don't have the working capital to complete the season, and amongst those linked with a possible move away from Hillsborough is their highly-rated young goalkeeper Pierce Charles.

Pierce Charles is on a modest £1,500-a-week at Sheffield Wednesday

At just 20 years of age, Charles' current wage is substantially lower than that of Sheffield Wednesday's more senior players. Capology estimates that his current wage is a relatively modest £1,500-a-week.

This makes him one of the first-team squad's lower-earning players at present, with their highest-earning player, captain Barry Bannan, earning £25,000-a-week. Capology confirm that Charles' contract at Hillsborough runs to the end of the 2026-27 season.

Having such an accomplished goalkeeper on a relatively low wage has been a boon for Wednesday, and the prospect of having to sell such a player is bad news for a club who spent much of 2025 failing to pay their players and staff on time under soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Sheffield Wednesday could face another goalkeeping crisis if Ethan Horvath returns following his loan and Pierce Charles is sold

Journalist Alan Nixon reported on Sunday morning that Sheffield Wednesday may have to sell highly-prized assets such as Pierce Charles in the January window should a sale of the club not be quickly tied up.

The club's administrators, Begbie's Traynor, confirmed in the middle of November that the club had the working capital to pay player and staff wages on time for the end of November and December. This came about in part as a result of an anonymous £1 million loan from a Wednesday fan, as well as increased spending at the club following the end of a spending boycott following Chansiri's departure.

But Nixon reported that "The Owls only have ONE major source of new income in January and to fund them for the rest of the season", and with the money put aside for wages at the end of November and December exhausted, more money will have to be raised in order to keep the club functioning as a going concern, which could result in the sale of players in the January transfer window.

Charles is an extremely highly-rated young goalkeeper who Sheffield Wednesday can ill-afford to lose. He missed much of the first half of this season after picking up a shoulder injury in August, which led to the club having to approach the EFL to make an emergency signing in that position, with Ethan Horvath subsequently arriving on loan from Cardiff City.

When Horvath was sent off during their Championship match against Charlton Athletic in October, the Owls had to make another loan signing to cover the goalkeeper's suspension, with Joe Lumley arriving on a 7-day loan from Bristol City.

Charles returned for their match against Watford on the 9th December, but Horvath's loan period with the club ends on the 2nd January and his time deputising hasn't been universally popular.

There has been no indication as yet that Sheffield Wednesday are seeking to extend Horvath's loan spell with the club, but his departure followed by the sale of Pierce Charles would leave Henrik Pedersen without a recognised goalkeeper and potentially needing to bring in another emergency loan in the January transfer window. Whether they'd be able to bring someone in earning a similarly modest wage to the £1,500-a-week that Charles is earning is a very open question indeed.

All of this serves as a reminder of how important it is that the sale of Sheffield Wednesday goes through promptly, following the selection of James Bord's consortium as preferred bidder to buy the club. It's also a reminder of just how much work the new owners will have on their hands at Hillsborough, once the sale is completed.