Sheffield Wednesday faced one of their toughest pre-season friendlies in recent years yesterday as they took on RB Salzburg.
The Owls travelled to Germany prior to the weekend to take part in their second training camp of the summer, before travelling to Austria to take on Pep Lijnders’ side.
Salzburg dominated on home soil, claiming a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday as the gulf between the two clubs became very apparent.
The Austrian giants came second in their top division last season though, as well as taking on the likes of Inter Milan and Benfica in the Champions League.
Wednesday weren’t expected to perform to the same level as Salzburg, but a controlling performance from the hosts allowed one player to show what he does best.
James Beadle made his first appearance since re-signing for the club on loan, having enjoyed a hugely successful spell at Hillsborough last term.
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James Beadle shines once again
The goalkeeper started in between the sticks for the first half before he was replaced by trialist George Shelvey, but 45 minutes was enough for him to make a statement.
Beadle earned himself a nine rating from The Star, who also claimed he was the Owls’ ‘man of the match’.
Journalist Alex Miller wrote: “Made a string of excellent saves early doors, two of particular quality at short range. A class apart on the day, saved the first half from being a different score line altogether, easily Wednesday’s man of the match.”
The goalkeeper could be Sheffield Wednesday’s signing of the summer
Wednesday have made some brilliant signings this summer and are really promising to have a good go at the 2024/25 campaign.
Danny Rohl has so far made the additions that were needed, with their attack now looking much more threatening. However, keeping hold of Beadle was probably just as important.
The 20-year-old had the second-highest clean sheet percentage of any goalkeeper that played over two matches in the Championship last season – claiming eight in his 19 games for the Yorkshire outfit.
Beadle was simply ‘superb’ and if he was able to perform like that after only a couple of seasons in senior football, there is no doubt that fans will see an even bigger improvement over the coming year.