Sheffield Wednesday senior man on his trust in youth and the rebirth of Joost van Aken

That’s according to club vice-captain Tom Lees, who is looking forward to watching on as Garry Monk looks set to name a youthful side for the Owls’ Carabao Cup trip to Fulham on Wednesday.

Like many of his senior teammates, Lees is not expected to feature in the clash, which will see the winners progress into a fourth-round tie at either West Brom or Brentford.

And on the progress of youngsters such as Ciaran Brennan, who made his debut at centre-half in last week’s cup win at Rochdale, Lees said: “It’s been good.

"The best thing about them is that they’re all really good lads, so when they come and train with us and those that have been with us from the start, you want them to do well.

“They’ve had to get up to that level of what training with the first team is because when they first came in, you see it with some boys, the session might break down on them.

“But it’s not the case and when they’ve had the chance they’ve really taken it.

“I’m pleased for them because we’ve all been in that position at some point or other in our career.”

Wednesday will be keen to keep their run of four consecutive clean sheets going at Craven Cottage. One man who has been integral to the two kept in the league is the returned Joost van Aken, who on Saturday made his first home appearance for the Owls since December 2017.

Lees backed him to continue to prove his doubters wrong.

“When he came to the club and everybody could see the ability he has,” Lees said.

“You see it at any level in football, you can take knocks in confidence. I'm sure every player goes through those spells in their career.

“It's been a difficult time for him and he's had injuries too.

“But the attributes that he's got have never been in doubt. He's tall, he's strong and is good on the ball.

“The manager has obviously given him that belief and confidence and I think you can see that in the way that he's playing.”

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