Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore said that Owls defender Mark McGuinness has been excellent for the club this season.

The 21-year-old joined the Hillsborough outfit on a loan deal in the summer, moving from Championship side Cardiff City despite having appeared 34 times for the Bluebirds in the second tier last season.

When fit, he has been a regular for Darren Moore's side in League One this season, with 16 appearances to his name in all competitions so far.

Yesterday, though, he bagged his first goal of the campaign which proved to be a crucial one, earning Sheffield Wednesday all three points against Shrewsbury Town.

Offering his verdict on the 21-year-old after the match, Moore told the media, via YorkshireLive: "Him and Icky [Ihiekwe] will get the plaudits for the clean sheet, but as an individual, I think he has been excellent for us."

"We were really pleased to get him in. At the time we got him in, I was really surprised that he was available, so I didn't hesitate to get on the phone to him.

"He was poised to go to another club and what the fans are seeing is a solid individual that is technically good on the ball, but when it comes to defending as well he is equally as strong.

"The icing on the cake for him was scoring today."

With another three points in the bag, Sheffield Wednesday remain third in the League One promotion race.

The gap to league leaders Plymouth Argyle has now been reduced to just three points after their draw versus Burton Albion yesterday.

The Verdict

Like Darren Moore I was surprised that Mark McGuinness was available for a loan this summer.

After featuring as much as he did at Cardiff last season, I saw no reason for a temporary move away, but nevertheless, it happened.

It's clear that McGuinness is a fantastic defender at this level, and with Ihiekwe alongside him, Sheffield Wednesday have a really good centre-back pairing in a back-four.

Being defensively solid and racking up the clean sheets will do their promotion chances absolutely no harm this season.