Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday reject big Manchester City bid for talented attacker – left with tough decision
The 15-year-old, who has played for both England and Scotland at youth level, is having a fantastic season in blue and white, and on Saturday fired the Owls’ U18s to a 6-0 victory over Colchester United to make it 10 games unbeaten. He scored five of them.
Despite playing against players substantially older than he is, the talented teen has bagged 22 goals at U18 level, adding to the vast amount that he’s scored for the U15s and U16s as well. It’s form that has not gone unnoticed, and The Star understands that the club turned down an offer from City over the last week that is believed to be worth a seven-figure sum.
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Cadamarteri is at a difficult age at the moment from a Wednesday perspective, because he can only sign scholarship terms at 16 and professional terms at 17. It’s only once he’s penned a professional contract that the Owls would have full say over any future transfers, with any case going to tribunal to determine a fee if a club can’t agree terms with Wednesday. They’d be guaranteed compensation, but how much is as yet unknown.
There’s also the added concern that that compensation amount would be substantially less if a team outside of England came knocking, for instance Celtic or Rangers, given that cross-border compensation deals have smaller amounts attached to them. As seen with Liam Shaw not so long ago. It’s worth noting, of course, that Cadamarteri is Scottish by birth.
Taking steps such as involving him more in first team training, applying for special dispensation to use him in the U21s or possibly even the Championship would all add to the potential amount that would be owed if somebody snapped him up, but in reality there’s nothing the Owls can do if a club desperately wants him and is happy to go down the tribunal route. We saw it happen with 16-year-old Harvey Elliott, Liverpool and Fulham a few years ago.
A bright Sheffield Wednesday talent
Wednesdayites are unsurprisingly excited to see a player of Cadamarteri’s talent coming through the ranks, particularly given that his brother, Bailey, has risen through the academy as well. But if interest continues to grow – and a number of other clubs are believed to be watching him – then the Owls may be faced with a difficult decision to make.
Cadamarteri, who is also eligible for Jamaica, will be fully focused on helping the Owls U18s in their quest for Professional Development League glory this year – something that their recent form has made very viable. But his goalscoring antics aren’t likely to make it any easier when it comes to fending off interest from above.
The teenager is just one of many in the Owls’ group of players 18 and under who have become highly-rated over the last 18 months, and the dream for fans is that they’ll one day get the chance to see them gracing the field at S6 competitively.
