Will this season be the end of the road for Keiren Westwood and Sheffield Wednesday?
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The veteran goalkeeper started the season frozen out under Garry Monk but has since taken back the number one shirt, first under Tony Pulis dnd then in Neil Thompson’s long caretaker stint.
Westwood has been out injured with a rib issue since Darren Moore’s appointment as Owls boss last Monday but is back out training and could be back in contention next week.
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Hide AdJoe Wildsmith is the man with the gloves as it stands but with Westwood’s return imminent and with Cameron Dawson on the comeback trail from a knee injury, Moore made clear nothing is preconceived when it comes to his choice of stopper.
With Westwood’s contract up at the end of the season and only 12 matches of the season remaining, it could well be that if the new Owls boss decides to stick with Wildsmith – at 25 years old 11 years Westwood’s younger – he is running out of opportunities to earn himself a new deal.
Asked whether he saw Westwood as his number one or whether all three goalkeepers were in competition for the shirt, Moore said: “It’s got to be all three of them. I’ve come in and I’ve got be consistent with my message, the slate has been wiped clean for everybody. It’s no different for the goalkeepers.
“Westy has been injured but he’s back on the grass with us and he’s training. The days are becoming shorter now where he is going to be competing for that goalkeeping spot.
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Hide Ad“He has got a wonderful amount of experience and he will be calling on all that experience to try and get the position back.
“Joe is in there and doing really, really well and long may it continue. The more competition the better is the way I see it.
“Keiren is back on the grass and we will see see how the next few days go.”
Westwood, a two-time Wednesday player of the year and huge fan favourite, hasn’t played more than 20 league matches in a season since 2016/17.