It's been a tough season for Sheffield Wednesday this time around and the negative news has continued today with it becoming apparent that George Hirst's future is in doubt.

The young striker is a real talent and has scored a whole hat-load of goals during his time in the younger Owls' set-up, naturally leading many fans to wanting him on a long-term deal and even featuring for the first team.

That, though, appears a bit of a way off at the moment with The Star revealing today that the forward has refused to put pen to paper on a new, extended contract.

It's a negative story for all concerned, then, and the speculation will begin to grow over where the young forward might end up if he and the Owls do not manage to meet one another's expectations from the deal. Looking ahead to what could happen in the future, then, we've considered who might go in for the forward if it becomes a real possibility that he's going to move.

Here are three sides that will surely be interested...

Leeds United

Leeds have proven to be good at bringing through young players into their first team in recent years with the likes of Charlie Taylor perhaps the most obvious example.

That might not have worked out how the club would have liked but the set-up is still there for future young players and Hirst might feel as though he could profit from that. It's a move that would really upset Wednesday fans given how well they've done with Hirst so far but if he wants to move Leeds could be very keen.

Everton

There's a genuine belief that Hirst could make it as a Premier League player with the right guidance and coaching and so maybe he feels it is time to join the youth set-up of a top-flight club.

With that in mind, Everton would be well placed to take him with their U23's taking the Premier League 2 crown last season and plenty of their young stars taking the path to the first team successfully. Dominic Calvert-Lewin's progress might be of particular interest to Hirst.

Wolves

Wolves are one of the most upwardly mobile sides in the country, let alone the Championship, and so they'd surely be able to attract some good young players to join what they're doing.

Nuno Santo has proven himself to be a top level manager and the work he has done with some of the brightest youngsters around is yielding some top results at the moment. With Hirst's potential, Wolves' progress and Santo's managerial ability, it's a move that the men from Molineux really could be thinking about pursuing.