Sheffield Wednesday defender Isaac Rice is set for a move to Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic, according to a report from The Sun (via the Sheffield Star).

This signing looks to be a boost for the 20-year-old, with the Owls announcing he would not be offered a new deal to remain at Hillsborough last month.

Despite captaining Wednesday's youth team and signing a professional contract with the newly relegated third tier side back in late 2018, Rice rarely featured for the senior side and didn't have the chance to impress out on loan before the news of his upcoming release in mid-May.

In fact, his senior debut only lasted a matter of minutes, with the defender coming on for Callum Paterson in the third minute of stoppage time against Exeter City, in their 2-0 FA Cup third round victory.

Interim manager Neil Thompson and a few of his coaches missed that FA Cup match and weren't able to see Rice in person due to a Covid scare - but new boss Darren Moore has wasted no time in cutting his squad and Rice is just one of many Wednesday causalities this summer.

Verdict

With Liam Shaw also moving north of the border to Celtic and the likes of Kadeem Harris, Joost van Aken and Adam Reach just three of many senior players to have left Hillsborough this summer, this news will not be the most disastrous thing in the world for the Owls.

How quickly Rice has been able to secure a deal with another club, especially in the Covid era, may cause many Wednesday fans to sit up and take notice of his potential performances to come for Dunfermline.

However, with their financial problems and drop to League One, the club could not afford to carry any excess baggage and with very little involvement in the first team squad at 20-years-old now, Darren Moore may have viewed him as just that.