‘Could be a wise move’ – Sheffield Wednesday eye reunion with Championship player: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield Wednesday are reportedly hoping to sign Stoke City defender Danny Batth this month.

Stoke-On-Trent Live has confirmed that the Owls are interested in the 31-year-old, who has fallen down the pecking order at the Bet365 Stadium.

But would he be a good signing for Wednesday? And do they need him?

We quizzed our FLW writers for their thoughts…

Can you name which club Sheffield Wednesday signed these 28 defenders from?

1 of 28

Lewis Gibson

Burnley Manchester United Everton Liverpool

Marcus Ally

This would be an excellent signing for Sheffield Wednesday.

At 31, Batth still has plenty left in the tank as he has demonstrated with his performances for the Potters this season.

The Owls need good senior pros and more importantly, leaders in such a high-pressure environment in the third tier and Batth would fit into that.

Wednesday have been pretty defensively sound this season, it is their attacking process that has them outside of the top six.

But they do not have a dearth of options in their rearguard and they have missed Dominic Iorfa hugely since his injury.

Michael O’Neill has plenty of alternatives at the bet365 Stadium and therefore Batth could be one player that he can afford to lose this month.

His contract is up at the end of the season and Phil Jagielka may well just block his pathway back to the first team for the remainder of the campaign.

George Dagless

I think it could be a wise move, certainly.

Batth has played for Wednesday before in his earlier career and did well there on loan, with Owls fans really taking a shining to him.

Certainly, he showed that he understood what it meant to represent the club during that period and having a bit more of that in the squad now could never be considered a bad thing.

As well as that, he is a player that is more than capable of producing good performances at League One level and adds obvious quality to the side, whilst Wednesday aren’t going to be breaking any banks by trying to sort a deal for him too.

Lots to like with this one.

Declan Harte

Batth is a fan favourite from his time at the club during loan stints in the early 2010s and the club is in desperate need of signing a defender.

At 31, Batth doesn’t particularly fit the bill as an ideal profile that Wednesday should be looking to sign. But, at this point of desperation, they are left with very little choice but to find a short-term solution to their problem.

With Batth’s contract up at the end of the season, it also means this should be a low financial risk to the club. The likelihood of a low transfer fee should make the deal more appealing for Wednesday.

They need a solution to their current crisis in defence and while this might not be the best solution, any way to solve the problem will probably do for the club at the moment.