Trialists, film crews and a venue change as Sheffield Wednesday pre-season continues
Sheffield Wednesday’s pre-season is well underway - and will continue in local surroundings on Tuesday evening.
A gruelling week at St George’s Park saw Sheffield Wednesday players undertake their second round of double-sessions as the Owls coaching staff look to prepare the squad for what will be a demanding campaign proper.
Wednesday returned to Middlewood Road a week earlier than most EFL counterparts, with their Monday to Saturday trip to St George’s acting as the starting pistol to the football side of things as Henrik Pedersen put out two different sides of 11 in each half of a 3-0 defeat to Championship West Bromwich Albion. The match was treated centrally as a fitness exercise, with all players monitored throughout after a brutal few days.
Two trialists were named in the match, which as expected, The Star understands to have been Nathaniel Chalobah and Wanya Marcal. Both players are training with the club having become free agents over the summer, Chalobah returning to the club on a training brief - initially at least. Some senior players sat out of the run-out entirely as they continue their timelined preparations towards full fitness. Cam Dawson was present at St George’s Park but did not feature in the run-out.
The week saw Harry Gray join up with the camp from the outset, with Barry Bannan also arriving early doors as the pair strengthened the squad’s attacking options. Louie Barry joined on board from Aston Villa in a permanent transfer, doing so part way through the week, as did Joe Lumley amid his switch from Bristol City. All four featured in the West Brom exercise as did fellow new signings Jordi Liongola, Sil Swinkels and Callum Slattery.
The Star can confirm that much of the behind-the-scenes action at St George’s Park was filmed not only by the club’s media arm, but also by an independent film crew looking at producing a documentary about the early months of Wednesday’s resurgence under new ownership. It’s understood that no deal is struck with a streaming service or similar as of yet, but that the production could in theory find itself to a streaming service or be produced on Wednesday’s behalf. Among those involved in the production are major award winners, it’s understood.
The next pitstop on Wednesday’s pre-season programme is a local one, as a mainly youthful Owls line-up take on Hallam FC at their famous Sandygate. The sold-out clash will see Henrik Pedersen’s men wear their new home strip for the first time since its official release last week. The appearance of some senior men is not believed to be out of the question as calculations are made on fitness and match volume following a tough first couple of weeks.
The weekend will see Wednesday make the trip over to Preston North End for another behind-closed-doors run-out. Having initially been announced to take place at Middlewood Road, the match is believed to have been switched to the Lilywhites’ Euxton training ground at the agreement of both clubs for logistical reasons.
The Owls will head over to Budapest for a training camp the following week and will head to Vienna to face-off with Stoke City in another behind-closed-doors run-out on July 25. The Star will be in both cities to document their European adventure.