Sheffield Wednesday to lose two ‘big’ players on free transfers
Sheffield Wednesday’s latest financial issues could see two of their young rising stars leave for nothing.
The Owls are in serious trouble once again, having spent much of 2025 under various transfer embargos.
The problems mainly stem from unpaid wages to both players and staff, and top goal-scorer Josh Windass joined Wrexham in the summer after cancelling his contract at Hillsborough, having not been paid on time in the months preceding the transfer window.
And with Sheffield Wednesday under a transfer embargo until the end of the January 2027 window, the Owls are facing the very real possibility of losing two teenagers who have appeared for Henrik Pedersen‘s side this season for nothing.
Will Grainger and Yisa Alao may leave Sheffield Wednesday for free
Following an exodus that saw 13 first-teamers leave in the summer, with only Djeidi Gassama’s transfer to Rangers recouping a fee, Pedersen has been left with a threadbare squad.
As a consequence, the Danish manager has turned to his youth team, including young duo Yisa Alao and Will Grainger.
The pair have each appeared in the Carabao Cup, despite being just 16 years old, and according to The Star, the duo are held in “very high regard” at Hillsborough, and are seen as players with “big potential”.
However, the two young stars turn 17 in the next few months and as things stand, the club may not be able to offer them professional terms, due to the embargo.
The EFL will have final say on any new contracts and with news that players and staff are once again going to be facing the prospect of not receiving their wages in full for the month of September, the governing body may not allow additional wages to be added to the club’s finances.
“Internal discussions” have been had in regards to Alao and Grainger’s futures, but even if both want to stay, that may not be feasible, given the Owls’ current financial predicament.
English football regulator the only thing that can save Wednesday
The arrival of the English football regulator cannot come soon enough for Sheffield Wednesday.
The Yorkshire side already lost Caelan Cadamarteri to Man City this summer and are facing the prospect of at least two more young stars departing for greener pastures.
Dejphon Chansiri‘s continued insistence that he will not be parting ways with the historic club has sent the Owls into freefall.
The regulator will have the powers to step in and take control of the club, although when that will happen is still anybody’s guess.
The Labour government are fast-tracking the regulator’s arrival with a planned start date sometime in October 2025, but until that is set in stone, Wednesday will continue to flounder.