League One’s 2023/24 Golden Glove winner is yet to renew his deal at promotion winners Derby County
HIGHLIGHTS
- Joe Wildsmith shone in Derby County’s defence, keeping 20 clean sheets last season.
- Despite his success, Wildsmith has yet to sign a new deal with the club.
- Derby must retain Wildsmith to maintain stability in goal, as he has been vital to their recent performance.
In the 2023/24 season, Joe Wildsmith led Derby County’s defence, keeping 20 clean sheets in 40 matches. However, the 28-year-old remains without a fresh contract with the Championship-bound club.
Wildsmith, who signed as a free agent after leaving Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 2022, rapidly became the Rams’ number one under Liam Rosenior and Paul Warne. However, Wildsmith has yet to sign a new contract with Derby, potentially departing the club at the end of June.
Over two seasons at Derby County, the Sheffield-born custodian has made 86 League One appearances and maintained 37 clean sheets.
In March, the Derbyshire Telegraph claimed that Warne had put contract talks with the squad on hold until the end of the season. Now that we know the Rams’ destiny, it’s only a matter of days or weeks before the retained list is disclosed.
Joe Wildsmith: A season of achievement in Derby
Wildsmith struggled to break into the first team at Wednesday. Despite being offered a new contract, he elected to leave at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Wildsmith has proven to be a reliable player since joining Derby. He would start every league game in the 2022/23 season and came close to defeating Liverpool on penalties in the Carabao Cup, saving from Stefan Bajcetic and doing enough to deter Roberto Firmino.
In 2023/24, Wildsmith won the League One Golden Glove and conceded only 31 goals in 40 games for the Rams, his greatest season to date.
His save percentage of 72.1% was the third highest in the division, slightly behind Lincoln City’s Lukas Bornhøft Jensen and Portsmouth’s Will Norris.
| Joe Wildsmith Derby County stats (2023/24 FotMob) | |
|---|---|
| Games Played | 40 |
| Clean Sheets | 20 |
| Save Percentage | 72.1% |
| Goals Conceded | 31 |
| Errors Leading to Goals | 0 |
Wildsmith won Derby County’s “Save of the Season” award for his save against Bolton Wanderers’ Jón Daði Böðvarsson during the Rams’ crucial 1-0 victory over their promotion rivals in March.
Derby’s lack of legitimate competition for Wildsmith
Derby may struggle to replace first-choice custodian Wildsmith if he leaves due to significant transfer competition this summer.
Derby County’s second-choice custodian, Josh Vickers, joined from Rotherham United at the start of the season and has a contract until 2026, according to the club’s website.
Vickers, 28, made seven League One appearances this season, keeping two clean sheets. However, a thigh injury near the conclusion of the season kept him out of the squad for several weeks.
Wildsmith, a former Rotherham goalkeeper, remained in the starting lineup for the end of the season, helping the Rams finish second in League One.
There is no justification for Derby not to retain.
Derby should keep Wildsmith because to the pitch’s lack of depth. He has been the glue that has kept together the Rams’ defence over the last two seasons, and Paul Warne may be unable to rely on Vickers as his first choice for a complete season, especially in a higher division.
Many clubs would be fortunate to have a player of Wildsmith’s calibre, and at only 30, he still has plenty of time to establish himself as one of the Championship’s greatest goalkeepers. Derby should have offered him a new contract after a successful two-year stint. Whether he signs or not is his decision, and it will be played out in the coming weeks, so Warne will need to act quickly if his ‘keeper decides to leave Pride Park.
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