Sheffield Wednesday hit the jackpot with £0 deal for former Sunderland & Coventry City star | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday signed Keiren Westwood on a free transfer following his release from Sunderland in 2014

Following his release from Sunderland in 2014, Sheffield Wednesday snapped up the free signing of Keiren Westwood on an initial two-year deal, and he would go on to make just shy of 200 appearances for the Owls across all competitions.

Having come through the youth ranks at Manchester City, Westwood would be released by the Citizens, having never made a senior appearance for the club, remaining as a backup option behind both David James and Nicky Weaver as a youngster.

After failed trials at Accrington Stanley and Bradford City, Westwood joined Carlisle United on a free transfer in 2004, where he would initially be a backup during his first campaign in Cumbria.

Westwood finally got his chance to compete for the number one shirt during his second season, and would go on the make 35 appearances in League Two for the club that season.

He would go on to retain his starting spot at Brunton Park for the next two seasons, playing every match, and at the end of the 2007/08 season, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year, as well as hoovering up all of the club's Player of the Season awards.

A move to Coventry City followed that summer, and he would be named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year in his debut season at the club, and would miss just seven league games across three years with the Sky Blues, before joining Premier League side Sunderland on a free transfer in 2011.

The 21-time capped former Irish international would compete with former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for the number one spot at the Stadium of Light, but would largely be a backup during his three years in the North East, and would subsequently join Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer following his release in 2014.

Keiren Westwood signed for Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer following his release from Sunderland

After spending the past three years as a backup option at Sunderland, Westwood would immediately be thrust into Sheffield Wednesday's side, signing an initial two-year deal and becoming the club's number one, replacing Chris Kirkland in the process.

Kirkland competed for the number one position the season prior with a certain Emiliano Martinez, and had now lost his place to the incoming Westwood.

Under head coach Stuart Gray, Wednesday would go on to achieve their highest league finish in six years, finishing 13th whilst equaling their clean sheet record for a season in the process, with Westwood integral in that feat.

In Wednesday's goalless draw against Norwich City at Hillsborough in October, manager Gray heaped praise on Westwood, citing it as 'the Keiren Westwood show'.

Gray would go on to say: "Keiren Westwood has shown what a top-quality keeper he is with a man-of-the-match performance.

"He's a fantastic individual and he takes a lot of pride in his work and his performance."

That same season, he'd be named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for the second time, and the first time for the Owls, and would extend his contract until summer 2018.

He'd remain as the club's undisputed number one for the next two seasons, and in the 2016/17 season, he would win the club's Player of the Year for the second time, as the Owls narrowly lost out in the play-offs.

Like Gray, new manager Carlos Carvalhal lauded Westwood's ability to make game-winning saves when necessary, saying: "A good goalkeeper is one who makes saves when he has to, when the team needs him to. Kieren is a fantastic goalkeeper and when the team needs him, he is there. It is important to have a good goalkeeper and he is one."

Ahead of the 2017/18 season, Westwood began to struggle with injury problems, spending much of the season out with a groin injury and was replaced by Joe Wildsmith in his absence.

Despite his age, the formidable Westwood would not give up his number one spot with ease and would continue to compete with both Cameron Dawson and Wildsmith for his place between the sticks.

However, his game time slowly faded, and he would finally leave Hillsborough after seven years with the club, making 199 appearances across all competitions. Without injuries and being frozen out under Garry Monk, he almost certainly would have got closer to at least 250.

Keiren Westwood would become a modern-day legend at Sheffield Wednesday thanks to his performances in goal

Westwood would join Queens Park Rangers in March 2022 as the West London club sought an emergency replacement following injuries to each of Seny Dieng, Joe Walsh, Jordan Archer and David Marshall, where he played just six times, keeping just one clean sheet.

He'd join Crewe Alexandra in February 2024 in what was his final move in professional football, joining on a short-term contract due to an injury to first-choice keeper Tom Booth.

Now retired, Westwood is the head goalkeeper coach at Welsh side TNS, and also runs the Keiren Westwood Goalkeeper Academy for aspiring young goalkeepers.

The Irishman worked his way up as a backup in League Two to become a Premier League goalkeeper, yet he will be most fondly remembered for his time at Sheffield Wednesday, where his performances across his seven-year stay earned him the status of a modern-day legend in South Yorkshire.

Signed on a free, Westwood gave seven years of his career to Wednesday, three of those as an undisputed starter between the sticks, and earned a reputation as one of the very best in the second tier. He cost the Owls nothing, and in return, he gave them years of match-winning saves and memories to last a lifetime.