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

Sheffield Wednesday are in advanced talks to bring experienced goalkeeper David Stockdale to Hillsborough, according to YorkshireLive.

The Owls are on the lookout for a replacement for Bailey Peacock-Farrell, with the Northern Ireland international headed back to parent club Burnley following the end of his loan spell in South Yorkshire.

Whilst he may not end up being the first-choice stopper for Darren Moore in the upcoming 2022-23 League One season, the 36-year-old will bring some experience to the goalkeeping department, having played at Premier League and Championship level for Fulham, Ipswich Town, Hull City, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Stockdale played in every single League One match for Wycombe Wanderers last season as they made the third tier play-offs, keeping 19 clean sheets in the process.

 

 

 

 

FLW's Wednesday fan pundit James Mappin has expressed his satisfaction with the club's move for Stockdale, even though there are obvious reservations in regards to his age.

"I must admit this has caught me a bit off-guard - I wasn't really expecting us to be linked with someone like Stockdale," James said.

"Not because of his talent - obviously he's a good goalkeeper - just because of his age, really.

"36 years old, how many years has he got left? Is it just going to be a one-year deal? It will be interesting to find out what's being tabled - if ever we do find that out.

"I thought we'd be looking for someone a bit younger, we've been speaking about that quite a bit, we've got quite an old squad - well we certainly did come the end of last season.

"That being said, if you look what he did last season, he finished with the golden glove, the most clean sheets, so we'd be signing in essence the best goalkeeper in League One, and I have said for quite some time that especially during last season, yes we had Championship quality players but we weren't playing in the Championship, and that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to do well in League One.

"League One's a different beast, there's a lot of clubs around the bottom of the table, no disrespect to the likes of Morecambe, Gillingham last season, Accrington etc who are going to battle hard - I know we are talking about a goalkeeper here, but he knows what it's like, he's played in this division for quite some time, and he's done it as well.

"For me, I would be surprised if we do sign him, but after you've slept on it a bit I think he would certainly be a good addition - it's just whether he's coming in as number one or as a number two to Dawson."

The Verdict

Stockdale is a goalkeeper that probably looked to be on the way out in terms of his career with emergency loan spells to different clubs in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

However, he's managed to resurrect himself at Wycombe, becoming their first-choice and being a big part of their push for promotion back to the Championship this past season - even at the age of 36.

It makes sense for Darren Moore to want one of the best goalkeepers from last season in the third tier as part of his squad, even though he is coming towards the end of his career.

Ideally, there will be a younger goalkeeper pushing Stockdale for the starting jersey should a deal get over the line - perhaps a fresh face instead of Joe Wildsmith or Cameron Dawson - but it's certainly a potential risk-free addition.