What Henrik Pedersen has noticed about homegrown Sheffield Wednesday starlet due more minutes
The situation at Sheffield Wednesday has given rise to calls for even more teenage kicks before the season is out - with manager Henrik Pedersen keen on easing Will Grainger further into proceedings.
The fresh-of-face 17-year-old is a homegrown Wednesday product with youth caps for Wales and a growing reputation in the corridors of Middlewood Road. His involvement in senior football has been measured so far this season but has seen him make three substitute appearances in the last three weeks as careful consideration continues into his development.
The subject of contract discussions effectively put on ice until the wider circumstances around the club are given more clarity, Grainger is seen as one of the foremost talents Wednesday have - and remains a baby even in the ever-youthful squad Pedersen and his coaching staff have been left with.
Another late outing against Ipswich Town on Saturday will have increased his comfortability in a first team shirt and with eight matches remaining in the Owls’ season of horror, the hope is that opportunities can be picked out to offer further exposure to what it takes at senior level. Careful considerations will be made on when those chances are given.
Asked about the clamour from supporters to see more of him in first team action, Pedersen smiled: “Yes, of course. I will try. But also, we played against Ipswich. This is like a Premier League team and we have some big talents, but there is still a big, big step also to play against a team like that. But we will try to put him in when we can of course.”
Interestingly, Pedersen volunteered the idea that Grainger’s performances at youth team level have improved with better players around him. New signing Zain Silcott-Duberry played alongside him this week, with the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and Ike Ugbo having done so this month.
“We have especially seen his improvements in the training but also in the under-21s,” Pedersen continued. “Now we have played a little bit of a stronger team with our 21s in the last few games. And you can see it fits him well to play with better players, because then he has a good mind and he gets more of the right passes. He gets more of the right runs. And he has done it really well with the under-21s. So, I think we will try to take him in as much as possible.”