Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk has suggested that Joe Wildsmith will be in strong contention with Cameron Dawson to be the Owls’ first choice keeper for the rest of the campaign, following their 1-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Monk handed Wildsmith his first start of the campaign, and his first start since August 2018, against Manchester City in the FA Cup at Hillsborough, with the keeper having found himself behind both Dawson and Keiren Westwood in the pecking order since the first few weeks of last season.

However, with Westwood having been frozen out of the first team picture in the last few weeks and months, Wildsmith has been back up to Dawson in the Championship, but his performance against Manchester City, where he managed to make a number of fine interventions suggests he could be ready for more regular starts.

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Speaking to the media in his post-match press conference following the defeat against Manchester City, Monk suggested that Wildsmith would be able to challenge Dawson strongly for the number one goalkeeper position over the rest of the season and beyond.

He said: "Joe and Cameron are the future of the this club and it will be interesting over the coming years to watch them battle it out for that spot."

The verdict

These comments from Monk certainly seem to confirm that Westwood is now completely out of his plans, with the Sheffield Wednesday manager having now entrusted Wildsmith to start and having seen him deliver an encouraging display, meaning he can have faith in both him and Dawson.

Considering that Wildsmith has had to wait so long for a start for Sheffield Wednesday, he delivered an exceptional performance against Manchester City, with the keeper a commanding and calming presence between the sticks throughout the ninety minutes at Hillsborough.

It was a performance that will leave fans questioning why he has not been given more chances to impress this season, especially given the Owls current poor run of form in the Championship – and Wildsmith will certainly now be firmly pushing Dawson for a place in the side.

Dawson has been guilty of making a few costly errors over the last few weeks, and Monk will now be faced with the challenge of whether to allow Wildsmith the chance to establish himself as the club’s number one keeper during the final stages of the season.