Sheffield Wednesday’s future: Contracts, talks and exits – the current state of play
Sheffield Wednesday’s 2025/26 campaign is over, and a new dawn is about to begin at Hillsborough. There’s work to be done.
As things stand there are only nine players who could be classed as seniors who are contracted to the club for next season, and a handful of them aren’t exactly experienced professionals.
With the final whistle having now been blown for the first team, U21s and U18s, we thought we’d give you a whistlestop tour of what our current understanding is on the state of play going into the 2026/27 campaign.
The contracted
Pierce Charles, Di’Shon Bernard, Yan Valery, Sean Fusire, Gabriel Otegbayo, Ike Ugbo, Jamal Lowe, Olaf Kobacki and Charlie McNeill are all believed to have deals going into next season.
In terms of actual confirmations, only Rio Shipston and Nathaniel Chalobah have made their departures public up to now, but more of those are set to come in the coming days and weeks. There’s also an expectation that Valery will be sold this summer, most likely after the World Cup.
Meanwhile, there may well be some talk of new and improved deals - especially as relegation wage drops kick in - with Charles front and centre on that front. Everybody else, though will no longer be an Owl come July 1st as things stand.
The options
There are options, of course, with the club having the opportunity to extend the deals of Liam Palmer, Svante Ingelsson, Ernie Weaver and George Brown, although there’s no immediate rush on that front given that they have until the third Saturday in May - which is the 16th this year.
It’s expected that Ingelsson, Weaver and Brown will all have their options exercised, however it’s believed that there are discussions taking place regarding the future of Palmer.
Speaking to The Wednesday Word on Tuesday, the Owls captain said, “I’ve not spoken to Henrik since the game on Saturday, I know he’s been busy - as have the owners. They’ve probably got a list as big as their arm to sort out, but we’ll probably go for a bit of food in the next few days.
“I know he’s going back to Denmark as well, but we’ll catch up before that and we’ll talk shop.”
The possibles
Of those who will see their contracts expire this summer, it is unknown at this point exactly who is in Pedersen’s plans for the 2026/27 campaign.
Two that we do know, however, are experienced defenders - Max Lowe and Liam Cooper. It’s understood that early talks have been had, with both players very open to the idea of joining the fight in League One, but as of now there is nothing official with either.
Cooper, speaking to TWW this week, said, ““Hopefully the boys can take that into next season, and I can be a part of that. We’ll see on that, it’s in the club’s hands as we speak. There are amazing people at the club, amazing support, and it resonates really well with myself in terms of how I see life and football, so hopefully I can be a part of things next year. We’ll leave that to those in power, but I’ll do everything I can do be here.”
Jarvis Thornton is set to be offered a new deal after some solid showings in his debut Championship season, and Pedersen has made it clear that he’d like to see the 20-year-old remain at the club for the upcoming campaign.
Young Mackenzie Maltby, who featured in the last two games of the season, could well be offered a new contract as well, but it’s unknown right now as to when that decision will be made.
Other young players such as Zain Silcott-Duberry, Logan Stretch, Reece Johnson, Bruno Fernandes, Devlan Moses, Jack Phillips and Joe Emery fall into the ‘unknown’ category for now given a lack of detail on their individual contract situations.
The loanees
Murphy Cooper and Jerry Yates have said their goodbyes internally, while Joel Ndala has been out of the picture for a little while now. With Cooper and Yates, they could be options that are revisited next season depending on what happens, while Ndala will simply return to Manchester City.
Things could be a bit more interesting when it comes to both Tayo Adaramola and Jaden Heskey, though. It’s understood that both players have left a very positive impression on the technical team at Hillsborough, and that permanent moves are being weighed up for both of them.
Wednesday are no longer bound by an inability to spend transfer fees, and while it’s unlikely that they’ll be splashing big cash this summer, there has been a suggestion that deals could be struck with both Crystal Palace and City - possibly utilising future clauses rather than money up-front.
The youngsters
One name in particular is of interest to Wednesdayites, with Will Grainger having showcased his quality as the season came to an end. The 17-year-old is an exciting talent at Hillsborough, and there is a definite aim to tie him down on a first professional contract. Those talks are expected to progress in the near future.
Also set for the first pro deals are teenagers, Kailen Hatfield and Aodhan Sopala, both of whom have impressed at U18 level this season.
It will sadly be the end of the road for many, with several players from the U21s and U18s having now played their last game for the club. Definitive details on those leaving aren’t quite clear, but it is thought that Junior Kamwa and Favour Onukwuli could be among those on the way out.
The scholars
As reported yesterday, there are 10 players who will begin their Middlewood Road scholarships next season.
They are: Jamie Darley, Roman Cawley, Olly Bramhall, Charlie Liddell, Harrison Langford, Dennis Kohn, Louis Hutchison, Logan Scott, Benjamin Sedgwick and Oscar Wildman.
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Another great read joe , don’t suppose you know if we are due to hear from the owners/ceo? I think many were under the assumption there would be a press conference
Joe, best guess on the sort of fee we might get for JV??