The Sheffield Wednesday striker who has grown from a 'kid' to a 'man'
Sheffield Wednesday lost at 1-0 at Middlesbrough but youngster Will Grainger showed promising signs
Henrik Pedersen says Will Grainger has matured from a ‘kid’ to a ‘man’ since the end of last year.
The 17-year-old, a Welsh youth international, came on midway through the second-half in the 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, replacing the injured Jarvis Thornton. And the striker came the closest out of anyone to grabbing an equaliser when he forced goalkeeper Sol Brynn into a parry at his near post.
Grainger, who had only made three Championship appearances totalling just a few brief minutes before his extended outing at the Riverside Stadium, has been scoring regularly for the under-21s and many fans have been calling for Pedersen to give him more time on the pitch.
“We have spoken about how we want to bring him in and when is the right time,” Pedersen told BBC Radio Sheffield. “I think he did it really, really well. I think since Christmas he's grown a lot as he's not more a kid, he's a young man now. You see he has more and more power in his action defensively but also his discipline on the ball today was good. So, yeah, a good performance from him.”
Time will tell whether Grainger will get more minutes in Sheffield Wednesday’s last two games of the season, starting with a trip to Oxford United on Saturday before a home finale against West Brom but he seemed to make a positive impression on Pedersen.
He added: “I think his balance inside was really, really good. I think he handled this very, very, good tactically, but also, also under maximum pressure. So well done from the young man.”
Wednesday lost the game 1-0 after Morgan Whittaker pounced on a mistake from Gabriel Otegbayo to give the hosts an early lead. The Owls remain on minus three points ahead of their visit to the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. Oxford must win or they will be joining Wednesday in League One next season.