According to Yorkshire Live, Joost van Aken could be on his way out of Sheffield Wednesday when he returns from his loan spell at VfL Osnabrück. The 25-year-old has struggled for playing time at Hillsborough and has been surplus to requirements for 18 months.
Van Aken joined Wednesday from Heerenveen in 2017 and has gone on to make 16 appearances in all competitions. As per Transfermarkt, the former Netherlands U21 international hasn’t turned out in a Wednesday shirt since August 2018’s EFL Cup win over Sunderland, however, so his future looks away from the club.
Due to a lack of playing time at Hillsborough, Van Aken opted for a loan move away and has made 20 appearances across the board for Osnabruck. He’s been a regular at the heart of the defence, but Yorkshire Live don’t believe he stands a chance of getting minutes under Garry Monk next season.
Despite Tom Lees struggling for consistency and a backline containing Julian Borner and Dominic Iorfa leading Wednesday to have the second-worst defensive record in the Championship since the turn of the year, the door may be closed to Van Aken.
The 25-year-old has one year remaining on his deal, but it remains to be seen how much money Wednesday can get from his sale if they made him available over the summer – Van Aken set the Owls back a reported £2.7m in 2017 but now has a market value of £1.13m.
Prior to his move to Osnabruck, the Dutchman was linked with NAC Breda, FC Emmen and PEC Zwolle, but it’s unknown if any of the former suitors would consider a return.
