The 21-year-old replaced Keiren Westwood in the second half at Cardiff and held his own in the 1-1 draw.
When Keiren Westwood was taken off injured just over half an hour in to Sheffield Wednesday’s match with Cardiff on Wednesday evening with the Owls 1-0 down, the travelling fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
They need not have worried, however, as young stopper Cameron Dawson came on and helped Carlos Carvalhal’s side earn a valuable point at the Cardiff City Stadium which took them into the top six.
Read on for five facts about the promising Owls goalkeeper.
1) He is a boyhood Wednesday fan
Dawson grew up in Sheffield and fulfilled his childhood dream when he made his debut against Brighton at Hillsborough earlier this season.
“It means everything to me and my family. I’ve been here all my life. I’ve been at Sheffield Wednesday for many years now,” he told the Sheffield Star. “Every day I’ve been coming in since I was 15 years old and playing in the first-team is what I’ve been working towards and I feel very fortunate to have played for this club.”
2) He has been capped by England at youth level
The goalkeeper’s impressive progress in the Owls academy did not go unnoticed by England’s network of youth coaches, and Dawson has represented his country at under-18 and under-19 level.
He has made five appearances across both teams, and could yet receive under-21 recognition if he gets a chance in the Wednesday first team.
3) He has embarked on three separate loan spells
Dawson’s first temporary switch away from Hillsborough came in 2014 when he joined Plymouth Argyle, but he was only a back up at Home Park and ended up returning to the Owls without making a first team appearance.
He then had a spell a lot closer to home at Alfreton in the National League, for whom he played 17 times and picked up two man of the match awards in the 2014-15 season. Most recently, Dawson began this campaign on loan at Wycombe, where he made two appearances for the Chairboys.
4) He is battling it out with another local lad to be Westwood’s number two
Dawson came through the Owls academy with Joe Wildsmith, who has also appeared for the first team. Wildsmith – who was bizarrely given the number two shirt for this campaign – played in the famous 3-0 League Cup win over Arsenal last season and has appeared for the England under-21 side.
Wildsmith is currently out injured, and Dawson will have to do enough in his absence to prove that he is the man to deputise when Irish international Westwood is not fit.
5) He counts Gianluigi Buffon amongst his goalkeeping idols
Goalkeepers of Dawson’s age would have grown up watching the Italian legend, and during the summer’s European Championships the Owls youngster took to Twitter to praise a master of his craft.
Keiren Westwood is expected to be fit for Saturday’s clash with QPR, but Owls fans can rest assured knowing that if the Irishman does not make it they have a promising academy product ready to fill in if required.
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