Garry Monk has said that every player has the chance to show what they can do at the start of this new season and that he is willing to give everyone a fresh slate after being asked about the future of Joost van Aken.

The Owls were handed a 12-point deduction at the start of this season and have begun to make inroads on that with them beating Cardiff City on the opening weekend to get it down to -9.

There's still plenty of hard work to do, of course, but they will be determined to turn it around and Monk is looking to get the most out of the squad he has available right now.

Indeed, on Saturday we saw van Aken handed a start and he did well against the Bluebirds, with it perhaps fair to suggest that speculation over his future remains.

Monk, then, was asked whether the defender might still have an opportunity to remain at the club and, broadly speaking, it appears he and other fringe players do at the moment.

He said via the Sheffield Star:

“It's up to the players, and that's how it should be. It's up to them when they have an opportunity to prove a point and prove that they deserve to be at this club.

“That will always come down to the players. I've tried to give them opportunity, I've given them opportunity in pre-season, there were opportunities today, there'll be opportunities on Tuesday and the next game and the next game."

Quiz: What club did Sheffield Wednesday sign each of these 14 players on loan from?

The Verdict

The Owls certainly put in a decent performance at the weekend against a Cardiff side that was in the play-offs last season.

They'll be looking to kick on after that, then, and it remains to be seen which players are going to be a key part but van Aken did do well at the weekend.