A former Sheffield Wednesday man is now in line to scoop a Golden Glove award.
The goalkeeping position has been a very contested one for Sheffield Wednesday this season.
Right now, James Beadle is the club’s no.1, and many would argue that he’s been one of the best Owls no.1s in a few years.
He arrived on loan from Brighton in January and despite the odd mistake here and there, he’s been solid, keeping six clean sheets in 17 Championship appearances for Wednesday.
He’s displaced Cameron Dawson in goal after the Owls academy graduate endured a tough first half of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday facing goalkeeper crisis
And ahead of the summer, Sheffield Wednesday are facing something of a goalkeeper crisis.
Beadle’s loan deal is set to expire and Dawson has been tipped to leave when his contract at Hillsborough expires.
That leaves the inexperienced, but impressive Pierce Charles as the only first-team goalkeeper on the books for next season.
So Danny Rohl will definitely need to bring in at least one or two goalkeepers in the summer.
But right now, a former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper who the club let go two years ago, is now working his way towards a Golden Glove.
Joe Wildsmith impressing with Derby County in League One
Joe Wildsmith is a name that Sheffield Wednesday fans will remember well.
The Sheffield-born stopped is another who rose through the ranks in S6 and into the first-team, eventually making 88 total first-team appearances for Sheffield Wednesday.
But after featuring just three times in the 2021/22 League One season, Wildsmith would leave Wednesday as a free agent after rejecting a new contract offer.
He then joined Derby County and went on to feature 46 times in League One last season, and 39 times this season where he’s recorded a staggering 19 clean sheets.
He’s currently tied for the Golden Glove with Lincoln City goalkeeper Lukas Jensen, with Derby now just one game away from promotion to the Championship.
Joe Wildsmith could face Sheffield Wednesday next season
With Derby County almost over the promotion line, and Sheffield Wednesday now above the dotted line, it could mean a reunion between the two next season.
As things stand, Wildsmith is out of contract at Pride Park this summer.
But after a thoroughly impressive campaign, he’ll surely be handed a new deal in the summer months, where he’ll then have another crack at the Championship.
The bulk of his appearances for Wednesday came in the Championship.
And he had good spells in the XI too, but he was very much like Dawson in that he was often prone to errors and seemed to lose his confidence very quickly.
He’s found himself at Derby County though, and if he can return to the Championship with a Golden Glove to his name, he’ll surely prove his worth in the second tier next time round.
Derby County can win promotion when they welcome Carlisle United in League One this weekend.
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