The latest on Joost van Aken’s Sheffield Wednesday future…

The Star understands that, after seemingly impressing Monk during preseason, the 26-year-old centre back is set to battle it out with the Owls’ other centre backs for a starting berth in the Wednesday defence over the course of the 2020/21 season.

Van Aken could well be suited to the three-man central defence that Monk looks set to use with SWFC going forward, but will be met with competition from the likes of Dominic Iorfa, Tom Lees, Julian Börner, Liam Palmer and new signing, Chey Dunkley, for a spot in the starting XI.

There has been plenty of talk regarding a possible exit for the Dutchman, who was a big-money signing for the Owls back in 2017, but The Star is led to believe that – for the time being at least – he will be sticking around at Hillsborough.

Of course things can change quickly in football, and there is no such thing as a definite situation, but sources have indicated that the current situation is one that will JvA as part of Monk’s Wednesday setup for the season ahead.

The defender put in a solid performance on the left-hand side of Wednesday’s three-man backline against Premier League opponents, Leicester City, over the weekend, and it will be interesting to see whether he will get another chance to shine on Saturday as competitive action returns against Walsall in the Carabao Cup.

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