Sheffield Wednesday confirm Joe Emery exit as centre-back heads out on loan
Sheffield Wednesday defender Joe Emery has sealed his first loan spell of his career.
Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed that youngster Joe Emery has joined non-league side South Shields on a short-term loan deal.
The centre-back, who made seven appearances for the Owls last season, has linked up with the National League North side for 28 days.
It marks the first loan spell of the 19-year-old’s career, giving him the opportunity to gain valuable experience and enjoy regular first-team football for the very first time.
Emery, who signed a new one-year deal at Hillsborough last month, could make his debut for the Mariners when they face league leaders Hereford on Saturday afternoon away from home.
Speaking to the Mariners’ club website, Emery said: “I’m delighted to be here at South Shields for my first loan. This is a great opportunity for me to get my head down and string together a good run of games.
“I love the way South Shields play football, it suits me very well as I’m comfortable on the ball, and I just can’t wait to get started.”
Emery is the second Wednesday youngster to swap Hillsborough for the non-league scene on loan this month, following in the footsteps of striker Devlan Moses, who sealed a temporary switch to Buxton last weekend. Fellow youngsters Logan Stretch (Buxton) and Reece Johnson (Eastleigh) are also currently out on loan with non-league sides.
Emery’s departure follows confirmation from Owls sporting director Simon Wilson that Wednesday would look to send more of their youngsters out on loan in pursuit of first-team opportunities.
“I think it's really important that young players go and get senior football this period,” Wilson recently told The Star. “Non-league is actually a fantastic place to loan to because it's a good level of football, certainly in the National League and some of the National League North.
“It's strong teams, good crowds. We're so unique in this country that you get multiple thousands of people watching games in the fifth and sixth tier. It's pressure. It's men's football. But also you can be flexible with loan situations.
“We can do short-term loans. We can get them back if we need to get them back into our team, which is brilliant because that's what we all want. Or if they need to move to different clubs because that loan isn’t working or there's an opportunity to progress them up the levels, we've got all that. That's 100 per cent part of our plan and probably where my focus goes now.”