Wildsmith is out of contract at Hillsborough this summer.
Porto ‘keeper Vitor Baia was an old teammate of Carlos Carvalhal
He was once likened to a young Vitor Baia, the legendary Portugal goalkeeper of 80 caps, by his manager Carlos Carvalhal.
However, Sheffield Wednesday’s Joe Wildsmith could be on his way out of Hillsborough this summer, with his contract set to expire.
The 21-year-old local lad made his breakthrough under Carvalhal at the start of last season, impressing against Arsenal among others in the absence of regular number one Keiren Westwood.
Soon, Wildsmith was making his debut for England’s Under-21s, with a bright future seemingly ahead of him at both club and international level.
Barely 18 months on, it is some surprise that Wednesday have yet to tie him down to a long-term deal.
Despite his glaring error during an FA Cup defeat at Middlesbrough in January, you’d think the Owls would want that, but why would they leave it this late, knowing he’s already free to enter talks with other clubs?
Besides, it’s in Wednesday’s best interests to at least offer him a new contract which, if of equal terms to his existing one, would ensure that any interested party would need to pay compensation to land him – as was the case with Caolan Lavery’s 2016 transfer to Sheffield United.
So could it be Wildsmith holding things up – keen to see what better offers might be out there? He has only played twice this campaign after all, and with Westwood unlikely to budge any time soon, securing regular football is perhaps at the forefront of his mind.
Whatever the hold up, it would be a shame to see the Owls lose one of their brightest prospects in years.
And if he’s that desperate to play, why not keep him on and loan him out next season? There’s sure to be plenty of takers.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Joe Wildsmith impressed against sides such as Arsenal
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