Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday are keen on signing Manchester City midfielder Jaden Heskey, 20, son of former England forward Emile, on a free loan for the remainder of the season. (Sheffield Star, external)

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Sheffield Wednesday are set to lose the services of on-loan full-back Harry Amass, reports BBC Radio Sheffield.

The 18-year-old joined the Owls from Manchester United on transfer deadline day but is expected to return to Old Trafford with his loan period having expired following Sunday's 3-0 loss at QPR.

It is thought clubs higher up the Championship are interested in taking the England under-19 international for the remainder of the season.

Amass, who won consecutive club player of the month awards for November and December, has made 21 league appearances, scoring one goal.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield following Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers.

"The boys gave everything today. We had a difficult beginning to the game where they were more dominant than us, and then we changed the formation after 20 minutes and then we got defensive control of the game and we were stronger on the ball," he said.

"From the beginning of the second half, the boys played much more brave. On the ball they made many more brave movements behind the opponent and, until the 81st minute when they scored to make it 2-0, I thought it was a very equal game.

"Especially the second half, we can be proud because this is what we want to see more of. We want to see brave, young boys who want to play forward, who want to play with risk going forward.

"Today we had three senior players in the starting XI, but how the young guys are doing is much more than what we can expect from them."

Manchester United are not planning to recall 18-year-old English defender Harry Amass from his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday. (Sun), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen says he is looking forward to what the new year brings despite the 3-0 defeat at Preston North End.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I think we start the game really well - until the first goal it was an equal game where we were in good control.

"After the first goal we didn't get this rhythm back again. In the second half we were seeing that we were playing against one of the top six teams from the league. They are physical but with a lot of quality so it was a difficult second half.

"I think the first goal we were really well in the game, we moved them well around but we don't create a lot. When we want to break the defending line it is a challenge for us.

"Liam Cooper's injury is his groin. Normally when it is a groin it is a longer time [than a few days]. I think it will take a longer time with him.

"I am sure 2026 will be brighter for Sheffield Wednesday and the administrator will find a good solution and I am looking forward."

Can Sheffield Wednesday put a tough year behind them to start afresh with a much needed win?

The side have not experienced victory since beating Portsmouth 2-0 in September and will be hoping to claim just their second the season as they visit Preston North End on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

But while Wednesday are deep into bottom of the table, North End are just one point outside the top six and eager to end a three match winless streak before they start falling off the pace.

• Preston North End came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 back in November and will be aiming to complete a league double over the Owls for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won on only two of their last 25 away league trips to face Preston North End (D10 L13), winning 2-0 on New Year's Eve 2011 and 1-0 on 29 December 2023.

• Preston North End have lost 10 of their last 13 New Year's Day fixtures (W3), last winning on January 1st at home to Port Vale in League One in 2014 under Simon Grayson.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won their first league fixture in each of the last three calendar years, scoring at least three times in each win – the Owls last started four consecutive years with victories between 2001 and 2004.

• Preston North End's Michael Smith has been directly involved in five goals across his last five Football League appearances on New Year's Day (4 goals, 1 assist), assisting for Sheffield Wednesday against Derby last year. That run started with a goal vs PNE for Rotherham in 2019.

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Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has praised his side's resilience after they drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers at Hillsborough.

"It was a tough game. Blackburn are a good away team and we knew it would be a tough evening," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We worked very hard. We were not fresh, but I'm really happy with how we kept on working throughout the game.

"We all know what happens when we're tired. For the boys to keep this togetherness and tactical discipline was really strong."

Pedersen admitted his squad is stretched and is happy with the result in the circumstances.

"We had four senior players in the team, they took a big responsibility and the young guys followed on and worked hard.

"There are many things we would like to do better with a fresh team but we will take the point today."

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There are still a lot of questions to be answered at Sheffield Wednesday, after administrators chose a consortium which we understand is being led by James Bord as the club's preferred bidder.

What isn't known are the other people who are part of the consortium and where the bulk of the financial backing, or influence, will come from. Bord is the name fronting the group but it's a mystery as to who else is involved.

This will obviously influence whether the consortium clear the EFL owners and directors test.

It will also dictate how fans feel about things. A group including successful wealthy individuals supporting a data-driven approach (which isn't uncommon in football these days) is a perfectly reasonable vision for the club. Yet supporters need to know who else is involved to feel reassured - and until that happens, there's a question mark.

After everything that Sheffield Wednesday fans have gone through, they deserve transparency. They should insist on knowing who is involved in this consortium.

There's also the topic of Bord's experience with Sheffield United.

Some reports have suggested his influence has been overstated and limited only to the signing of young data-driven players such as Nils Zatterstrom, Ehije Ukaki, Mihail Polendakov, Christian Nwachukwu and Jefferson Caceres.

However, sources familiar with the situation tell me his consulting influence stretched beyond this.

United had a summer that saw Chris Wilder depart and Ruben Selles appointed in an unusual manner, where no alternative bosses were interviewed for a job that was one of the most high profile in the EFL.

Selles lost all six of his league games in charge before he was sacked and Wilder was hastily brought back.

Analytical data was presented to both managers to aid team selections, although neither were told who to pick.

The club also had an unconvincing summer transfer window, where signings like Mark Guinness, Alex Matos, Ben Godfrey and Louie Barry have struggled to make an impact.

The Blades finished on 90 points (with two deducted) last season as they finished third and lost the play-off final to Sunderland. This year they're 19th and have already lost three more games then they did in the entirety of last season.

The summer decision making set the club back and now they're trying to recover.

The jury also remains very much out on the young data-led signings United added. One, Caceres, left United after just a few months to join Bord's other UK-based club in Dunfermline.

It's unclear if any of the remaining additions have what it takes to make it at Bramall Lane.

Other sources believe Dunfermline have been stabilised since their January takeover, even if their league position of sixth doesn't show much progress in terms of results (they finished seventh last season).

Bord has minority stakes at Septemvri Sofia in Bulgaria and Cordoba in Spain. Both have experienced promotions. I'm told he also advised a top Premier League club on their recruitment too.

The statement released by Sheffield Wednesday on Christmas Eve suggested the £30m threshold to avoid a 15-point deduction next season will be cleared. That was always an aim, to ensure creditors received 25p in the pound and the club would avoid further sanctions.

No timescale has been set for the EFL's vetting process although a decision is not expected to come quickly. It could take weeks.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen praised his depleted squad after they held high-flying Hull City to a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough.

Svante Ingelsson and Bailey Cadamarteri scored to twice put the Owls ahead but Hull replied to take a point.

Pedersen pointed out that his squad is ravaged by injury at the moment but was pleased with the performance.

"I'm happy and proud of a performance where we were part of the game for 98 minutes," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"Hull are a strong team; they won their last three games. We played with six senior players, I have the biggest respect for how they led the young guys but also how the guys who came in did really well."

Pedersen admitted Wednesday struggled to contain Hull as the match wore on and says there are things to learn.

"Today we were very strong in the first 35 minutes. In the second half, we played without the ball because they are a top team in the league. The boys kept going and stayed together; we went up 2-1 and conceded an easy goal. But big respect.

"We struggled defensively on our left side, but we have to grow. But our medium press was good. There is a lot of things to be happy with but things to improve."