Sheffield Wednesday stepped up their preparations for the 2021/22 campaign on Saturday by taking on Barnsley in a pre-season friendly at the Championship side's training ground.
Whilst the Owls were unable to prevent the Tykes from sealing a 2-0 victory in this particular clash, manager Darren Moore will be hoping that his players will be able to use this experience to push on in the coming weeks.
Set to face Charlton Athletic on the opening weekend of the League One season, it will be intriguing to see who is handed the opportunity to start at The Valley.
One role that is still up for grabs ahead of this fixture is the goalkeeping position as the Owls are no longer able to call upon the services of Keiren Westwood who left the club earlier this year.
Although Moore still has Cameron Dawson and Joe Wildsmith at his disposal, he may be tempted to make some alterations in this area if recent reports are anything to go by.
According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, Wednesday are reportedly willing to part ways with Wildsmith this summer in order to draft in a new shot-stopper.
Since making his league debut for the Owls in 2015, the 25-year-old has struggled to establish himself as a regular member of the Owls' squad due to competition from the likes of Dawson and Westwood.
Limited to just 19 appearances in the Championship last season, Wildsmith was unable to prevent his side from suffering relegation to the third-tier as he ultimately failed to deliver the goods on a consistent basis in this division.
With his contract set to expire in 2022, this summer represents the best chance that the Owls will get to secure a respectable transfer fee for him.
GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...
Considering that Moore is keen to put his own stamp on Wednesday's squad ahead of what will be his first full season in charge of the club, it is hardly a shock that he seemingly wants to draft in a new goalkeeper.
Having recently been linked with a move for Bailey Peacock-Farrell, it will be fascinating to see whether the Owls boss opts to sanction Wildsmith's exit in order to secure the services of a shot-stopper.
Whilst Wildsmith did show glimpses of his talent last season by keeping seven clean-sheets in all competitions, he only managed to average a WhoScored match rating of 6.16 which was the fourth-worst score recorded by an Owls player in the Championship.
If Moore does not believe that the former Barnsley loanee possesses the ability to thrive in League One, it may now be time to part ways with him as the Owls boss unquestionably needs to be able to call upon players who can be relied upon at this level.
Transfer News LIVE: Liverpool linked with Aouar, Pellegrini to Spurs, Guehi to Palace
