Former Sheffield Wednesday winger set for shock move to refounded European side

Kadeem Harris, who made 88 appearances for Wednesday across two seasons having been brought in on a free transfer by Steve Bruce in the summer of 2019, had been trialling with Championship side Reading but appears to be growing closer to sealing an eyebrow-raising move east.

Reports in the national media suggest Harris is on his way to Metalist Kharkiv, who were last season promoted back to the Ukrainian first division having become insolvent in 2016 having racked up huge debts to former players.

Kharkiv, who play in the 40,000-seater Oblast Sports Complex stadium and played in several UEFA competitions in the 2000s and 2010s, were effectively refounded last season, playing in the country’s second tier under the name FC Metal Kharkiv.

Promoted at the first attempt, they were given the right to use the Metalist Kharkiv name, badge and history from this summer.

A deal would bring an end to a difficult summer for former Cardiff City man Harris, who spent several weeks training with Reading but having played in a handful of trial matches was told in the middle of last month they weren’t interested in making a deal permanent.

It won’t be the first surprise European move made by a Wednesday winger this summer, with Andre Green having already made a cash switch to Slovan Bratislava last month.

Of the players to be released by Wednesday over the summer, only Harris and goalkeeper Keiren Westwood are yet to secure new clubs.