What we know about Sheffield Wednesday’s up-and-comers as retained list draws close
There will be plenty of comings and goings at Sheffield Wednesday this summer, and the youth setup’s players will be included in all of that.
The Wednesday Word has already reported on where things are at for many of the youngsters ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, but with them having all been separate stories we thought we’d put together a handy guide for you.
With the season now at an end, the likes of Jonathan Pepper, Andy Sharp, Jordan Broadbent and the whole academy team have been working hard behind the scenes to put things in place for the campaign ahead. Unfortunately there will be plenty of players who have now donned Owls colours for the last time.
We’re expecting some kind of first team retained list in the near future, and it could be that one for the younger lads comes at the same time.
Anyway, here’s what we know about the two groups of players underneath Henrik Pedersen’s first team
Wednesday’s U21s
In terms of the goalkeepers, the two to keep an eye on for right now are Logan Stretch and Jack Phillips. It’s understood that the club are eager for both to remain part of things for the campaign ahead.
Defensively, there are still plenty of question marks over who will and won’t be part of things next season. Ernie Weaver almost certainly will be, with the club holding a one-year option on his contract, and there are talks over new deals for Reece Johnson and Joe Emery, too. It’s unknown at this point where things stand contractually for both Cole McGhee and Harry Evers, however the former is expected to stick around.
Mackenzie Maltby and Gui Siqueira, as reported by TWW, have been invited back for preseason after lengthy injuries in 2025/26, and will be hoping to secure deals to remain at Hillsborough. Elsewhere, it’s hoped that Kailen Hatfield will sign his first professional deal and join the U21 ranks.
In midfield, it’s already been confirmed that Rio Shipston will be moving on, while Henrik Pedersen has made it clear that they want to finalise a new contract for Jarvis Thornton as his current deal comes to an end.
It’s understood that there is also hope to sort out a contract for Bruno Fernandes, while details around Denny Oliver’s contract aren’t clear at this stage. The latter will be hoping to remain at Middlewood Road, too. A new addition to the setup could be U18s midfielder, Aodhan Sopala, who the club want to sign a first pro deal.
Then there’s the attackers. Wednesday have a one-year option on George Brown that they’re expected to exercise, while there will also be a desire to make sure Devlan Moses stays in blue and white. Junior Kamwa and Favour Onukwuli, however, may have now played their last game for the club.
Wednesday’s U18s
There’s likely to be a big turnover at U18 level, too. Scholarships will be ending, scholarships will be starting, and plenty of others will have another year to showcase their ability as they hope to land professional contracts.
As has so often been the case, Wednesday have some exciting goalkeeping talents coming through. Oliver Bramhall and Thomas Streets are the two that have caught the eye, but there’s also Charlie Hobbs. The latter could potentially be moving on this summer.
In defence, we could potentially see Jacob Jessop move on. The likes of Perry Ridge, Noah Dixon, Jack Barraclough and Reuben Selby, meanwhile, will start the second year of their scholarships.
The second-year midfielders consist of James Kay, Kleven De Oliveira and Harry Chadbourne, but there are question marks over Daniel Da Costa and Liam Clayton as their scholarships comes to an end.
Further up the field, we’ll see Charlie Robinson return for the second year of his scholarship, and Joel Akpobi will form part of Broadbent’s attack as well. With Will Grainger having quickly climbed up to form part of Pedersen’s senior ranks, they’ll be hoping that another young striking talent puts up his hand in the campaign ahead.
Newcomers to the setup will be Bramhall Jamie Darley, Roman Cawley, Charlie Liddell, Harrison Langford, Dennis Kohn, while the front row sees Louis Hutchison, Logan Scott, Benjamin Sedgwick and Oscar Wildman.
A few of them have already played at this level, and there are high expectations for many. Sedgwick in particular, will be one that fans keep an eye on given that he’s the son of former Owl, Chris.
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