The EFL has released updated squad lists for the rest of the 2025/26 campaign, underlining the stark reality facing Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls have registered just 18 players on their official senior squad list, which excludes under-21s. That number effectively drops to 17 following Yan Valery’s loan move to Swiss side Young Boys, despite his name still appearing.
It is comfortably the smallest senior squad in the Championship, with Queens Park Rangers the next lowest at 21. Clubs are permitted to name up to 25 players, and most sides have filled 24 or 25 spots.
The figures further highlight Wednesday’s difficulties, with the club stranded at the bottom of the table on negative points and relegation to League One looking increasingly inevitable in the coming weeks. Of the 18 senior names listed, Valery has departed, seven others are currently injured or only just returning to fitness, and five are on loan from other clubs.
The senior group also excludes several youngsters who have been pushed into first-team action to bolster numbers.
Players such as Gabriel Otegbayo, Reece Johnson and Jarvis Thornton feature on the under-21 list, alongside long-term absentees including Pierce Charles, George Brown and Ernie Weaver.
Wednesday are exploring the free-agent market in an attempt to replace Valery in the squad. While, in theory, they could add up to eight more senior players, financial restrictions continue to limit their recruitment options.
Sheffield Wednesday senior squad
Adaramola, Bernard, Chalobah, L. Cooper, M. Cooper, Heskey, Ingelsson, Iorfa, Kobacki, J. Lowe, M. Lowe, McNeill, Nakamba, Ndala, Palmer, Ugbo, Valery, Yates.
Under-21 contracted players
Brown, Charles, Emery, Evers, Fusire, Johnson, Kamwa, Leal Siqueira, Maltby, McGhee, Moses, Oliver, Onukwuli, Otegbayo, Phillips, Shipston, Stretch, Thornton, Vilela de Carvalho Fernandes, Weaver.
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