Sheffield Wednesday's centre-back options in the spotlight ahead of League One opener at Leyton Orient
Who will play centre-back for The Owls on Saturday?
Sheffield Wednesday’s options at centre-back for the new season have come under the spotlight.
Gabriel Otegbayo and Sil Swinkels, both 21, helped The Owls keep a clean sheet as they secured their place in the Carabao Cup second round with a 1-0 win against Bolton Wanderers at Hillsborough on Saturday. Jamal Lowe came off the bench to score the winner with 20 minutes remaining against the 10-man visitors.
Wednesday have some vastly experienced centre-halves waiting in the wings but it might be Otegbayo and Swinkels who start the season opener at Leyton Orient this weekend. Summer signing Ricardo Santos, who is back in training, is yet to feature in pre-season and was an unused substitute last Saturday. Liam Cooper was not in the matchday squad despite getting 45 minutes against Accrington Stanley a week ago, while Di’Shon Bernard is aiming to get minutes for the under-21s in the middle of September. Like Cooper, Ernie Weaver got 45 minutes under his belt at Accrington but did not get gone on for the visit of Bolton.
It was Swinkels who impressed in particular against Bolton, but Henrik Pedersen was keen for Otegbayo to get some credit, too, after they bounced back from conceding four goals at Oldham Athletic.
“I think he (Swinkels) did really well, and it tells something also about Gab, how they grow from last week. It was a wake-up call last week. They were really good, and then to grow like this in a week, and to be so strong, big respect for the two guys. But it was a team performance, and this is how we have to find ways every game to find a way to win, and this is true. They were a good part of the team.”
Speaking generally about his defensive options, Pedersen added: “Of course, when they all fit, we have an amazing group of centre-backs. So in this way, the number is good. But of course, when the three experienced guys are not fit, then we are very, very young. We need to come to the next period so we can get the experienced guys on the pitch so we can have a good mix of young and experienced guys.”
After Leyton Orient on Saturday, Wednesday’s first home match is against Bradford City the following Thursday.