£5m Sheffield Wednesday transfer signing in talks with League Two club after West Brom exit

Former Sheffield Wednesday forward Adam Reach could drop down two divisions, as talks take place about a possible transfer.

Reach has been a free agent since being released by West Brom in May 2024, and has admitted that the process has been 'daunting' and 'demoralising'. He went on trial at Swansea City in October but they opted to sign Cyrus Christie.

Seven months since becoming a free agent, Reach looks to be closing in on a return to club football. Football League World are reporting that Carlisle United are in talks with him about joining them, as they bid to avoid a second successive relegation.

Carlisle are bottom of the Football League, and are six points adrift of safety, though they do have a game in hand over Swindon Town. The Cumbrians were only in League One last season, and at just over the half-way point of the campaign, they are at risk of losing their EFL status, something of which they have held for 20-years.

Adam Reach’s career including Sheffield Wednesday spell

If Reach were to join Carlisle, then he would go from playing in the Championship to League Two, in less than a year. He played 19 games in the second tier last season, and this would be the first time in his career, that he'd have played in League Two.

A lot of his career was spent at Hillsborough, having joined the club for a reported £5m from Middlesbrough in August 2016. He made 230 appearances in total for the Owls, scoring 24 times, and providing 34 assists.

During his time in South Yorkshire, he helped the club to a fourth placed finish in his first year. Wednesday then finished 15th, 12th, and 16th before suffering relegation, finishing last in his fifth and final season.

To date, Reach has 475 appearances in club football, having also played for the likes of Middlesbrough, Preston North End, Shrewsbury, Bradford City, and Darlington. At 31, he believes he could go on to play just before he’s 40.

"The longevity of a player's career is going up because we can all stay fitter for longer,” said Reach. But at the same time, there's been a shift in transfer policy where the players clubs want to sign are getting younger and younger.

“Physically, I've still got potentially six, seven, eight years left. But when teams are focusing on players under the age of 23, that makes 31 sound quite old.

He added: The whole world is an option for me right now. I think I'm just shy of 400 games in the Championship, but I'm not naive enough to think that I deserve to be in the Championship just because I've played there for the last ten years or whatever.

"If there's an opportunity that comes up pretty much anywhere, I'd jump at the chance. I'm quite lean and naturally fit.”

Mike Williamson on Adam Reach links

Despite the strong rumours, Carlisle's manager did not comment on individual players, but instead spoke of the need for reinforcements. When asked by The News and Star if Carlisle had anything imminent in regards to signings, manager Mike Williamson said: "I hope so. I need to speak to Rob [Clarkson, sporting director],"

“He's working very hard with the owners, and we've got a couple of things that are spinning, but at this moment, I'm not sure.

“There’s a lot of work going on. I can't comment on who we're close to yet. We're hoping to get two or three or four bodies through the door as soon as possible.

“We’re always looking to increase the quality in all areas and that's just where we're at.

“So, there's many things going on, we’re speaking to many people, but at the minute, we're just where we are.”