Long-time Sheffield Wednesday man reveals leaving for Derby County was 'best thing' for career

Goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith produced heroics in Derby County's 1-0 win over fellow League One promotion scrappers Bolton Wanderers over the weekend, a result that pushed them into second and opened up a four-point gap on the Trotters.

It also served as Wildsmith's 90th Derby appearance, a number that took him past an all-time Wednesday tally of 89 picked up across seven seasons. The Owls academy graduate battled a number of fellow keepers for minutes in his career at Hillsborough, most notably the likes of Kieran Westwood and Cameron Dawson, and spent time as a number one, two and three during his senior career with the club.

In 2022 he turned down the offer of a new contract to stay on at S6 in order to join Derby. Though he spent a six-match stint deputising for Josh Wickers earlier this season, he has earned the number one spot at Pride Park.

"It is the best thing that I had to do in my career. I came here and my ambition was to play as many games as possible," he said. "To have played more times for Derby than I did at Sheffield Wednesday in just under two full seasons is something I am proud of."

Wildsmith made a handful of classy saves as the Rams overcame Bolton on Saturday. Derby manager Paul Warne praised his goalkeeper for a result that shifted the complexion of the third tier promotion battle.

"Joe pulled us out," said Warne after the final whistle. "We congratulated him after the game which is unheard of – managers congratulating goalkeepers. He pulled one two unbelievable saves – one first half form Bodvarsson, the header. As soon as the cross came in, I just thought it was going to hit the net. Joe has been part of a decent team performance, I am really pleased."

Speaking about his departure from Wednesday shortly after leaving, Wildsmith said: “I’m 26 and had been at Sheffield Wednesday since I was 12 years old and you are going into a place where you’ve gone into work that long with the same four walls.

“I just felt like I needed a different challenge and I’ve got that in signing for Derby. I feel like the opportunity here is massive and that is one of the reasons for signing. The new challenge and getting out of my comfort zone is something brand new to me and I just feel like I can thrive under that new feeling and kick on."

“My career has been mixed so far and that is due to different circumstance whether that be injuries or different managers coming in. Everyone has different opinions and that’s the journey I’ve been on and I take what I can from that in experiences and hopefully I can use that as motivation for wanting and striving to get better and establishing myself as a number one goalkeeper."