Joost van Aken & Garry Monk at Sheffield Wednesday – Getting to know you…
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The centre back was bought for big money back in 2017, with the Owls said to have paid upwards of £3m for the cultured defender from Heerenveen, but things haven’t quite clicked in South Yorkshire for the former Ajax youngster in a spell where he was also dealt with injury setbacks.
Now though, having got through a solid campaign in 2. Bundesliga with VfL Osnabruck, the 26-year-old was handed a starting berth against Leicester City in this past weekend’s friendly at Loughborough University, and put in a competent performance against Premier League opposition.
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Hide AdThe jury is still out regarding whether he will have a role to play under Monk in the 2020/21 season, which is the last year of his current deal, but it appears that the recent training camp should have given a better idea of where things are at for his Owls future.
Speaking to vi.nl this month, the Dutch defender said, “Actually, I'm especially curious... He was appointed during the past season. Then I was in Germany, so now we get to know each other. We started preparations on Friday. It is now a lot of physical work, when our training camp starts we will work more with the ball and I expect a little more clarity about his plans and my possible role in it.
He went on to add, “Last season I may have taken a step back at Osnabrück in terms of club size, but I found the pleasure back because I played a lot again. Because of that experience, it is now for me that I want to keep playing a lot. I want to play football, the financial side has become less important to me. It remains to be seen how things turn out in Sheffield, but in every choice I make, football will come first.”
Wednesday’s first game of the season sees them face Walsall in the Carabao Cup this weekend.
