Sheffield Wednesday: Owls centre-back refuses to rule out loan move
The 20-year-old made one start and three substitute appearances as the Owls secured a 15th-placed finish in the 2017/18 Championship season.
With Glenn Loovens departing the club and Frederico Venancio heading back to Vitoria de Setubal following the expiry of his loan deal, Wednesday are lighter on numbers at centre-half.
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Hide AdThe ideal scenario for Nielsen is to cement a regular place in Luhukay’s first-team squad but he has refused to rule out the possibility of leaving Hillsborough on a temporary basis to speed up his football education.
Centre-half Nielsen told The Star: “I am always open to all opportunities.
“If the manager or the club think I need a little more experience before becoming a regular first-team player, that’s fine. I wouldn’t mind going out on loan and getting that first-team experience. I’m 20 so it is really important to be in and around the team.”
Nielsen, previously of Nottingham Forest and Danish side Viborg, earned his first senior call-up in January, making his Owls debut in their FA Cup win over Carlisle United.
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Hide Ad“The Championship is a really, really high level and your standards have to be so high,” admitted Nielsen. “As a defender, you can’t switch off or afford to have a bad game. It is really high tempo.
“It is important to get that first-team experience so you can maintain that high level of performance. The step between the Under-23s and the first-team is big and the tempo is way higher so you have to be ready for that.
“But we have got a lot of good young players and the new manager has got us involved in the first-team a lot more. We are training with the first-team all the time and involved in the match squads as well.
“Personally, I hope I can maintain the position I have right now or even build into being a regular first-team player. That is the next step and what I’m hoping for.”