What a rollercoaster of a year it has been for Sheffield Wednesday's Keiren Westwood.

The Republic of Ireland international is regarded as a hero around the area of Owlerton, making over 150 appearances for Wednesday since signing from Sunderland in 2014.

But it has been a very disappointing year for the 34-year-old, who was frozen out by previous Wednesday boss Jos Luhukay after falling behind Joe Wildsmith and Cameron Dawson in the pecking order at Hillsborough.

Westwood failed to make a single appearance for Wednesday for well over a year, but to many people's delight, the experienced shot-stopper has been reinstated as Wednesday's regular goalkeeper under the tenure of Steve Bruce.

Speaking ahead of the Owls' trip to Reading this weekend, Westwood was asked whether he would like to stay at the club with his current deal expiring in the summer, and the answer was a resounding 'yes'.

Here, we take a look at THREE reasons why Sheffield Wednesday need to tie Westwood down to a new deal at Hillsborough...

He's still a very good goalkeeper

Westwood is like a fine wine - he gets better with age.

He may be 34 years of age, but he is still a very talented goalkeeper and is still a very key asset for the Owls.

It speaks volumes that the likes of promotion-chasing Leeds United were linked with the goalkeeper before the January transfer window, which suggests that he is still a very astute shot-stopper at this level.

He would be a great mentor for the young goalkeepers

He may have been replaced by Dawson and Wildsmith during Luhukay's tenure, but the young goalkeepers aren't the finished article just yet, and need guidance going forward.

Westwood has played at the highest level and has also represented his country over 20 times, and there is surely no better experience for Wildsmith and Dawson learning off a player who has played in the European Championships.

It could cause real divide between fans

After such a frustrating season thus far, the last thing Steve Bruce needs to do so early on into his tenure is to cause divide between fans.

We've already seen how the absence of Westwood is received by Wednesday fans, and it isn't pretty to say the least.

The player is keen to stay, so choosing to let him go could be a real mistake.