Fan fears allayed on future of hotly-tipped Sheffield Wednesday youngster amid continued absence

Rio Shipston, a fiery 17-year-old midfielder who joined the club aged just seven, was a standout performer in the Owls’ impressive FA Youth Cup run this season.

Several of his under-18s teammates including the likes of Bailey Cadamateri and Will Trueman have made the step up to the under-23s in their last two fixtures as the club begin to look towards next season.

A raft of young players have been told they won’t be required beyond the end of the current campaign and when Moore made clear there could be further players leave, it was initially feared that Shipston’s future was in doubt.

But his absence from those matches – plus the under-18s’ draw with Coventry City over the weekend – is nothing to be concerned about, Moore suggested.

“I was gutted he wasn’t involved because I wanted to see him myself,” he said, making clear he expects Shipston’s future to be at Middlewood Road next season.

“He's another one that has come on our radar in technical board meetings and where his development is at.

“Rio is doing really, really well and the future looks bright for him.”

Five senior players – Joe Wildsmith, Jaden Brown, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Florian Kamberi and Sylla Sow – all played in Tuesday’s 1-0 under-23 defeat to Ipswich Town.

They were mixed in with a handful of youngsters including 17-year-old Josh Ashman.

“With these players,” Moore said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re nurturing and developing them and make sure we give them that opportunity in terms of their development.

“Credit to them, they’re going into a stage where you’re not 13 or 14 when the game is so much more wider and you can make those mistakes.

“When you get to 17, 18, 19 you’re competing against senior players and pros. The room for error is marginal with these younger players.

“It’s about making sure we give them all the right tools and attributes so that when they do step in they don’t look out of place with the seniors and they’re very much contributing.”