Sheffield Wednesday: Joe Wildsmith on lookout for a new club for the first time ever

The 26-year-old has been with the Owls since his climb up through the youth ranks, and aside from a couple of short loan spells has spent his entire time at Hillsborough and Middlewood Road.

Wildsmith, a Sheffield native, is moving on this summer after his contract – which he signed back in 2017 – expires at the end of the month, with the goalkeeper deciding that he’d rather go and play regularly elsewhere than stay in his hometown at this point in his career.

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise…

Speaking about his future back in October, the shot-stopper did hint that he wanted to play regularly, saying, "I'm a Sheffield lad and my family are here but if it's not right for me or the club then that's what it is… That's a conversation that needs to be had this season before it gets too late and we will see what happens… It is not nice when you are not playing. Everyone wants to play.”

Now, with Wednesday’s announcement that he had turned down a new deal, his search for a new club begins.

He saw his long-term teammate, Cameron Dawson, drop down to League Two last season and have an incredible season that saw him earn promotion with Exeter City, and Wildsmith will no doubt look at that spell for inspiration as he plots his next move.

The 2021/22 season was a tough one for Wildsmith given that he pretty much only played when Bailey Peacock-Farrell was unavailable, and was restricted to just eight games in all competitions, keeping three clean sheets along the way.

Over the years the Owls academy product has made around 90 appearances for his boyhood club since signing his first pro deal back in 2013, and Wednesdayites will wish him well in his quest for a new club after substantially more than a decade of service to the club as a youngster and as an adult.

Now it’s on to pastures new – and he’ll want to get his future sorted as soon as possible in an unfamiliar summer.

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