Wildsmith or Westwood? Why Joe is making Luhukay's conundrum easier to call: Chris Holt's Sheffield Wednesday Column

What has happened over the course of last couple of months has seen the fears surrounding that, almost entirely banished.

Yes, on his day Westwood remains one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the Championship, but the form that Joe Wildsmith has shown since stepping up, has been remarkable.

There was never any doubt that there was a lot of potential in Wildsmith, the problem was that the young stopper was unlikely to get the opportunity to show it over long enough period of time.

Up until December, the 22 year-old had come in for the odd game and not always played to his potential.

Part of that, however, will have surely been due to the fact that he will have known by the time the next game comes around, Westwood will have the gloves back on again.

It’s difficult for a goalkeeper to maintain concentration levels in a match situation when those matches don’t come around often enough.

Lee Bullen admitted during his time in charge, between Carlos Carvalhal leaving and Jos Luhukay arriving, that Wildsmith should really be going out on loan to get first team experience.

Wednesday’s lack of back-up options meant that simply wasn’t able to happen.

Having turned out again in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, Wildsmith surpassed the most appearances he has made in a season at senior level, which before now was 14 in the 2015/16 campaign.

And he marked that by making a couple of fine saves to maintain another clean sheet - his fourth in a row - which is what Owls fans are becoming used to seeing.

Indeed, his displays in January saw Wildsmith voted as Wednesday’s player of the month

With Westwood close to full recovery, soon, Luhukay will have a big decision to make.

Unless he’s been watching videos, which shouldn’t be ruled out, the new boss will have seldom, if ever, seen Westwood in action.

What the Dutchman has seen is a young keeper who has excelled under his stewardship. A young keeper who doesn’t deserve to lose his place.

We know what Westwood is capable of, but he hasn’t produced, this season, the form he has shown in the past in an Owls jersey. As it stands, Wildsmith holds that jersey and should keep it. It’s now up to Westwood to win it back.

Looking further ahead, if transfer funds are likely to be an issue next season and interest is shown in the Republic of Ireland international, then maybe Wednesday won’t be quite so quick, as they have in the past, to dismiss it.