Sheffield Wednesday have further strengthened their squad on the final day of the summer transfer window, after announcing the signing of defender David Bates from German side Hamburg.

Bates has made 28 appearances and scored once for the German second-tier after only joining the club from Rangers last summer, having spent two years at Ibrox before that.

Now however, the Scot is set to spend a season away from Germany, after signing a loan deal with Sheffield Wednesday until the end of the coming campaign.

The four-time Scotland international has become the Owls seventh signing of the summer transfer window, and the third to arrive on deadline day, following the permanent signing of Massimo Luongo from QPR, and the season-long loan of Jacob Murphy from Newcastle United earlier on Thursday.

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There are currently three years remaining on Bates' contract with Hamburg, tying him to the German side until the summer of 2022.

The Verdict

This looks to be a smart signing from Sheffield Wednesday.

The centre-back certainly seems to have some potential, given his time at clubs the size of both Rangers and Hamburg, and that is something that Wednesday will surely look to exploit during his time at Hillsborough.

With Bates now joining the club, The Owls look as though they have plenty of options in their defence, so they should be confident of dealing with any injuries or suspensions that arise over the course of the campaign, and it will be interesting to see how regular a feature Bates is at Hillsborough.

Given the uncertainty that seemed to hit the club following the departure of manager Steve Bruce earlier in the summer, you have to credit Wednesday for the business they have done in the final days of the window in order to make this a productive summer that has given them a squad capable of pushing up the table this season.