Joe Wildsmith may be considering his future at Sheffield Wednesday as he remains behind Cameron Dawson in the pecking order and hasn’t had many opportunities to prove his worth under Garry Monk.
The 24-year-old rose through the youth ranks to the Wednesday first-team in 2013 and has gone on to make 49 appearances in all competitions, conceding 67 goals and keeping 15 clean sheets. He’s hardly featured this season, however, and may be open to a new challenge.
Wildsmith has made just one appearance for Wednesday, racking up 90 minutes in their FA Cup Fifth Round defeat to Manchester City earlier this month. Keiren Westwood lost his place in November after making costly errors in goal, but Dawson has somehow survived despite his own inconsistency.
Should Joe Wildsmith stay at Sheffield Wednesday?
Yes
No
Monk has stuck with the 24-year-old in goal despite Wednesday having the second-worst defensive record in 2020 – 24 goals conceded in 12 games. Wildsmith was first-choice back in 2017/18, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be given enough playing time now.
Whether Wednesday are happy to let him go remains to be seen, however. Westwood has been exiled from the first-team and Paul Jones will be out of contract this summer, so the Owls could leave themselves short on options if Wildsmith is allowed to leave.
Monk has said publicly that the 24-year-old is Wednesday’s future, but he needs regular playing time to continue progressing as a goalkeeper. Sitting on the bench for half the season does his development no good, so suitors may be able to lure him away if they promise first-team football. Time will tell, and the blame will only fall at Monk’s feet should he leave.
Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article
