How Liam Cooper reacted to Sheffield Wednesday signing Harry Gray from Leeds | OneFootball

Liam Cooper has taken to social media after Sheffield Wednesday confirmed the signing of Harry Gray from his former club Leeds United.

Sheffield Wednesday are expected to be very active in the summer transfer market as they prepare for their first season under new owners Arise Capital Partners.

There was major relief at Hillsborough when the US group completed their purchase of the club, as there had been very real concerns about the future of the Owls earlier this year.

Whilst there is optimism at Wednesday, there is also an understanding that a lot of work is required to improve Henrik Pedersen’s squad if they are to compete for promotion this season as a rebuilding process heads underway.

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Liam Cooper shares delight as Sheffield Wednesday sign Harry Gray from Leeds

The Yorkshire outfit have already been busy in the transfer market, with Sil Swinkels, Ricardo Santos and Callum Slattery among the new arrivals.

And, Wednesday have added another new face to the squad, with Harry Gray joining the club on loan from Leeds United.

The 17-year-old, who is the younger brother of Spurs’ Harry, is very highly-rated by the Whites, but he is understandably way down the pecking order at Elland Road at this moment in time.

Therefore, a loan switch was agreed with Rotherham in January, with Gray scoring three times in 20 games for the Millers, and he is now linking up with Wednesday in League One.

Given his potential, this is seen as an exciting signing for the Owls, and defender Liam Cooper was certainly pleased with the news.

The defender reacted to the news on his Instagram story, posting ‘here he is’, along with an applause emoji.

Even though Gray was only in the academy when Cooper was at Leeds, the 34-year-old centre-back will know all about the teenager due to his connections at the club, and he will have been aware of his talent.

Liam Cooper’s experience can help Harry Gray settle at Sheffield Wednesday

As mentioned, there’s a lot of excitement around Gray, with many at Leeds believing he will ultimately go on to have a career in the Premier League.

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So, this is a positive addition for Wednesday, even if some may look at his record with Rotherham and be underwhelmed. But, that doesn’t tell the whole story, as the Millers were a poor team who were struggling, so it was always going to be difficult to settle quickly mid-season.

It’s a different story at Wednesday, as Gray will have a near full pre-season with the group, and having players like Cooper is going to help him adapt to the professional game.

Even coming up against the experienced centre-back every day in training will benefit the youngster, and you can be sure he will lean on Cooper, and others at the club, for advice.

From the outside, this looks like the ideal move for all parties, and whilst there will need to be a degree of patience with Gray due to his age, it will be intriguing to see how he does in a Sheffield Wednesday side that will fancy their chances of bouncing back to the Championship at the first attempt.