Praise heaped on 'calm' Sheffield Wednesday starlet with teenager set for another chance

The 18-year-old made his first outing in senior Wednesday colours on Friday night as he started between the posts against Coventry City, and he had a solid start to life in the first team as he looked confident on the ball and made one fine save at the death to make sure the game ended 1-1.

Charles is highly rated at Middlewood Road having climbed up the ranks in recent years, and the Northern Ireland youth international was rewarded for his efforts with a long-term professional contract in October 2022.

With James Beadle cup-tied and Cameron Dawson injured, Danny Röhl opted to give the talented teen his Hillsborough bow in the FA Cup, and now the replay has been confirmed for next week - with Dawson possibly still out - he's set to get a chance to get a second game under his belt. His manager will be absolutely fine with it.

Speaking to The Star about Charles' debut, he said, “He made a good save, and did well today with his distribution, with his on ground ball possession, and he found good solutions... He was immediately there, he did exactly what I expect from him. He’s calm on the ball, he did well and showed self-confidence with the back four in front of him, and everybody had a good feeling.

"But if you’ve trained like he has in the last three months then you know the preparation is there and I think we can be happy that we have three good goalkeepers and a good group… It means we can improve and have a challenge, and this is fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Wednesday defender, Di'Shon Bernard, also praised the youngster, saying, “Pierce is really good, a really good player, and he shows it day in and day out with his distribution. I’m glad he got to show that today because he’s a a really good keeper, and he showed his shot-stopping too at the end - he saved us really.

“With the build-up from our side he was orchestrating all of that, and it was a good performance from him… I’m happy for him.”