Southampton answer over Shea Charles' Sheffield Wednesday future due soon

The Northern Ireland international has been a standout performer for the Owls this season, starting every game since his July switch from the Premier League side while grabbing four assists alongside his match-winning maiden senior goal in a dramatic win at Coventry City.

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As is standard procedure in modern ‘season-long’ loan deals, parent club Southampton hold a January break clause in the deal. Along with Charles’ remarkable form and a change of manager at St Mary’s, the Saints’ struggles in the top tier have raised speculation the clause could be activated, with Wednesday boss Danny Röhl having previously admitted concern around that possibility.

Speaking on Thursday he seemed more relaxed and with a recall deadline looming, it seems no news is good news. Once the deadline has passed, Charles’ status as a Wednesday player for the remainder of the season will be confirmed.

“No, not at the minute,” Röhl said when asked if the Owls had received any clarity from Southampton. “Hopefully everything goes well, but I think Shea feels very well here. I think this is important, if you have a player who is not so happy then the chance is maybe not so high to keep him. But we have a good relationship with Shea. At the moment it is a win-win situation for everyone, for us and for Shea and then hopefully in the summer for his club as well because they will get a better player.

“We make huge steps forward in his defence and in offence and he now has assists and minutes. I think these are good things and I believe it helps us as well to have such a role model here. We can show a lot of clubs what we can do with young loan players and how we can improve them. We should use this as our role model and maybe we can bring some loan players here to help them go the same way.”

Noticeably more relaxed in his press conference than in recent outings, Röhl smiled when asked by The Star to provide the cut-off date for the Saints’ recall option. A similar option is understood to be in place in the terms of James Beadle’s loan agreement with Brighton, though the Owls boss expressed a confidence he would stay on board barring an unforeseen shift in circumstances.

“There is always a deadline,” he said. “There is a point where the clubs can do something, but when it is, let's see! When it is over I can tell you when it is safe, but until then I will not speak about this date.” Laughing off the request to reveal the exact date of Southampton’s mystery recall deadline, Röhl simply said: “It's not far away!”