Joe Wildsmith will use 'mixed' Sheffield Wednesday experience as Derby County 'motivation'

Derby County’s new goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith believes he can take “motivation” from his mixed experience at Sheffield Wednesday.

Wildsmith has signed a two-year contract with the Rams along with former Owls teammate Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. He rejected a new contract at Hillsborough to gain regular playing time following David Stockdale’s arrival from Wycombe Wanderers.

The 26-year-old joined Wednesday at the age of 12 and made his debut in a 4-1 League Cup win over Mansfield Town in August 2015. Wildsmith registered 27 clean sheets in 89 appearances across all competitions for the Owls but struggled to pin down a regular place between the sticks.

“I’m 26 now, I’ve been at Sheffield Wednesday since I was 12-years-old,” Wildsmith told Rams TV. “You’re going into a place where you’ve gone to work for that long, the same four walls, and I feel like I needed a different challenge and I’ve got that now I’ve signed for Derby.

“I feel like the opportunities here are massive for me and that was one of the reasons for signing. The new challenge in coming here, and putting myself outside of my comfort zone, is something brand new to me and I feel like I can thrive under that new feeling and kick on.”

Wildsmith’s admits that his spell at Hillsborough was “mixed”. He played 26 matches during the 2017-18 campaign and a further 19 times in 2020-21 but featured very rarely last season in League One.

He was reduced to just three league appearances and played just eight times across all competitions in 2021-22. After ending his 14-year association with the Owls, Wildsmith is hoping to use his experiences as motivation.

“It’s been mixed due to different circumstances, whether that’s because of injuries or different managers coming in,”