Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday: Always picked, compared to a great, made captain - Shea Charles is revelling in responsibility

Since joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Southampton in August, Shea Charles has played almost every minute in the Championship, his central midfield job vital in holding the shape of the team and dictating the tempo of matches.

Danny Rohl has compared him to Germany’s Joshua Kimmich, Michael O'Neill recently made him Northern Ireland captain aged 21.

Neither Rohl nor O'Neill are idiots, nor are Arsenal, rumoured to be weighing up muscling in to take Charles to north London in January.

It tells you there is something a bit special about Charles, and something within him that thrives on responsibility. Sunday will be another test away to a physical Derby County side very good on their own turf.

"I play in the middle of the pitch so I've got to take a certain responsibility on the pitch and off the pitch as well," says Charles, whose goalkeeping brother Pierce is a team-mate for club and particularly country despite being two years younger.

"Being given the (international) captain's role adds a bit of responsibility but in this team and my national team we've got players around that can lead a team regardless of who's wearing the armband.”

"As a No 6 (holding midfielder)," Rohl points out, "he is always in the middle of the pitch and he can control and dictate the rhythm."

There is a lot to be impressed about when it comes to Charles beyond the most important – his football. He was only 19 when he left Manchester City for Southampton.

"I didn't go back into pre-season so it was quite hard to leave like that," he admits. "I'd been there since I was seven and I support City so it was definitely a tough decision.

"I think around my age and the year above there was kind of a recognition that at some point you've got to go out and play men's football somewhere. A lot of players have done that over the last couple of years and it's worked because the standard's so high at City that you can leave and get a good amount of playing time elsewhere."

Once you work with Pep Guardiola – half an hour as a substitute in the final game of 2022-23 was his only Premier League experience with City – it would be no surprise if every coach after was a let-down.

"He's so good," Charles says of Rohl. "Ever since he first rang me I had such a good feeling about him. He's got such a good relationship with all the players.

"It was short and sweet. He told me how he wanted his team to play and I'd watched quite a bit of Wednesday with my brother playing. He told me how he wanted me and Barry Bannan to play.

"The top coaches can make a hard job look simple just by the way they explain it to you, whether it's in a team meeting or a one-on-one meeting. He makes it clear how he wants you to play and how he wants the players around you to work."

But there are words and there are actions. Rohl's teamsheets have spoken volumes. He seems to have few doubts about Charles’ durability.

"He has a good body," says the German. "I took him out against Watford for some minutes (he was substituted after 66, his shortest Owls game) but at the moment for him it's best for him to play.

"I had such a player in Joshua Kimmich (when Rohl was on the Bayern Munich coaching staff), who played the same position and could play every game. He was never tired and at the moment I have the feeling Shea Charles is the same."

Charles is happy to keep growing and learning.

"As far as I know, I'm here for the season," he says in a press conference most players linked with a move would be kept well away from by anxious media departments.

"The decision is with Southampton," insists Rohl.

Playing in such a young and exciting Northern Ireland side who won their Nations League group is certainly helping.

"Definitely," he agrees. "We've had three good camps. You can go into the next (club) game with a lot of confidence and there's not a lot of days between games.

"We're such a tight-knit group we can tell each other what's good, what's bad and we can all feel good about it. When we're winning games and we top the group it's working really well."

Already Rohl is thinking about how Charles can get better.

"He is calm on the ball, he can carry the ball and now he finds more and more the open body position he likes to find the ball in, a mix between give-and-go and the body position to play through the lines," he says, getting all technical.

"Not everybody recognises how much hard work and running he is doing for the back five as well. He always recognises where the open space is for the opponent and drops into it, then steps up. He gives us a lot of things.

"The next step will be that he speaks more.

"He has a good standing in the group and this helps to grow up as a leader. I'm convinced he will have a good career."

If, Heaven forbid, something goes wrong, it is hard to imagine it being buckling under pressure.