Sheffield Wednesday confirm that Ash Baker has joined Newport County on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee. The 23-year-old spent three years at Hillsborough after joining from Cardiff City and went on to make 13 appearances in all competitions, the last of which came in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea City (December 15, 2018).
Baker found himself behind Liam Palmer and Moses Odubajo in the pecking order this season, so he’s opted to move away to a club willing to give him more first-team opportunities. The right-back was out of contract this summer and looked unlikely to be handed a new deal, so Newport capitalised on the situation to bring him back to Wales.
As for his new club, County are currently 11th in League Two with 33 points from 24 games this season. They’re only two points adrift of third-placed Cheltenham Town and have two games in hand. Newport boast the second-best defensive record (22) in the division and are unbeaten in their last three.
Baker is joining a side in decent form, so he’ll have to work hard for his place – Dan McNamara is Newport’s first-choice right-back and has made 21 league appearances so far.
Where should Sheffield Wednesday strengthen in the transfer market?
Goalkeeper
Defence
Midfield
Attack
