Hamburg are keen to sell Sheffield Wednesday's on-loan centre back David Bates on a permanent basis come the summer transfer window, a report from German outlet Hamburger Morgenpost has claimed.

Bates joined the Owls on a season-long loan from the Bundesliga 2 club back in the summer transfer window, but has failed to really make any sort of impact during his time at Hillsborough.

The defender has made just a single appearance for Wednesday since his move to Yorkshire, in a 1-0 win at Rotherham United in the second round of the Carabao Cup at the end of August.

Now it appears as though Bates could be set for an equally difficult time when he returns to Germany at the end of the season.

According to the latest reports, parent club Hamburg will look to sell the defender when the transfer market reopens, with Bates no longer in their long term plans.

That is despite the fact that there are currently around two-and-a-half years remaining on Bates' contract with Hamburg, securing his future in Germany until the end of the 2021/22 season.

Since joining Hamburg from Rangers back in the summer of 2018, Bates has made a total of 28 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring once.

The Verdict

You can kind of understand this stance from Hamburg.

Given they are currently well in the battle for promotion to the German top-flight, it does seem as though they are coping well without Bates.

As a result, they may well feel that this could be a good opportunity to make some money out of the defender, whose own experiences at Wednesday have given rise to questions in Germany about whether or not he is worth sticking with.

However, given that lack of game time in Yorkshire this season, it is hard to see the Owls looking to make the move permanent, and you have to wonder whether that may put other potential suitors off a move for the 23-year-old as well.