Sheffield Wednesday hit the transfer jackpot thanks to Sunderland AFC | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday's deal to sign Keiren Westwood on a free transfer after he left Sunderland turned out to be great business by the club.

Sheffield Wednesday are gearing up for a new era under the Storch family, with the club set to be playing in League One next season.

Despite the size of the Owls, there will be an understanding that patience is required. The US group is buying a club on its knees, and they will start next season on -15 points, as well as under restrictions on who they can bring in.

So, it’s going to be a long road to success for Wednesday, but there will be a belief from the prospective owners that they can take the Yorkshire outfit back to the Premier League in the years to come.

Clearly, plenty of investment will be required to do that, but we know that it’s not just about splashing the cash, as you need to be smart with what resources you have available.

Keiren Westwood was a real bargain signing for Sheffield Wednesday

That’s the challenge that awaits the recruitment team, and the immediate task will be identifying potential free agents that can help next season - and if any of them can replicate the success of Keiren Westwood, it will be brilliant for Wednesday.

The Irishman joined the club in 2014 after his contract at Sunderland had expired, and it wasn’t the sort of deal that overly excited the fans.

Whilst Westwood had been good for Coventry City in the second tier, his three years at Sunderland were largely spent watching from the bench.

Therefore, there were no guarantees that he could rediscover his best form, but it became apparent very quickly that Westwood was still more than capable in the Championship.

He had joined a club that had recorded successive bottom half finishes after winning promotion from League One, so promotion to the Premier League seemed a long way away.

Obviously, the takeover by Dejphon Chansiri changed the dynamics at Hillsborough, and, in that period, he funded some serious signings that helped make Wednesday a force.

Over the next few years, the likes of Barry Bannan and Fernando Forestieri would understandably attract the headlines, as they were great to watch, but Westwood was a constant for Wednesday between the sticks.

Keiren Westwood will rue Sheffield Wednesday's failure to win promotion

He was fantastic under Carlos Carvalhal, as they reached the play-offs in back-to-back seasons, but they heartbreakingly fell short on both occasions.

During that period, Westwood had a strong claim to be considered the best keeper in the league, and, if Wednesday had gone up, there would have been few doubts about him carrying on as number one in the Premier League, especially if they’d overcome Hull at Wembley.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be, and his career was hindered by injury problems, which restricted him to no more than 20 league appearances in one season over the last four years of his time at Wednesday.

That wasn’t entirely unexpected, as the ex-Carlisle man had joined the club at 29, so he was at his peak at that stage, and by the time he was getting close to his mid-30s, Westwood was starting to decline.

Nevertheless, he pulled on the gloves for Wednesday almost 200 times, and, for large parts, he was the reassuring presence that many fans hadn’t seen in goal for a very long time.

Like all at Hillsborough, there will be a sense of regret for Westwood that he didn’t make that next step to the Premier League with the club, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying.

In Pierce Charles, Wednesday look as though they have someone with the talent to make the same sort of impact Westwood did, but there are concerns that he could move on given his ability.

If that happens, Wednesday will be in the market for a new keeper, and finding another gem like they did with Westwood over a decade ago would go down very well with the new regime.