West Ham United are among the clubs showing interest in signing Shea Charles from Southampton in the January transfer window.
That is according to a report in The Daily Mail, which has named the other clubs that are keen on a deal for Charles, who is on loan at Sheffield Wednesday at the moment.
The Daily Mail has reported that West Ham, who are keen on James McAtee, have checked on Charles, who is on the radar of Leicester City as well.
Italian outfit Atalanta, who are in the race for the Serie A title this season, have also watched Charles in action this season.
The £12 million midfielder (The Daily Mail) joined Wednesday on a season-long loan deal from Southampton in the summer of 2024.
Described as a “combative midfielder who gets around the pitch, brings it up and keeps it simple” by former Wednesday striker Clinton Morrison on Sky Sports in October 2024, Charles, who was linked with Celtic last summer, has scored one goal and given four assists in 21 Championship matches for the Owls so far this season.
Shea Charles is one for the future
While there is no doubt that Charles is a very promising young talent, he is one for the future. If West Ham do manage to sign the Northern Ireland international in the January transfer window, then they must not expect him to turn on the style immediately in the Premier League.
Charles has made just one appearance in the Premier League so far in his career. The former Manchester City prospect is only 21 now.
That Southampton decided to send him out on loan to a club in the Championship for this season instead of including him in their first-team squad for the Premier League campaign shows that they do not think that he was not ready to play week in and week out in the top flight of English football.
