Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed in their 2019/20 retained list that David Bates will return to his parent club at the end of June. His loan spell at Hillsborough is up next week and Wednesday have opted against extending his contract until the end of the revised season as he’s struggled for playing time under Garry Monk.
Bates joined Wednesday on a season-long loan from Hamburg and has gone on to make just one appearance in all competitions – 90 minutes in the Owls’ EFL Cup win over Rotherham United (August 28, 2019). The 23-year-old made the matchday squad four times in the Championship but was exiled from the first-team in mid-September.
After falling behind Sam Hutchinson, Tom Lees, Julian Borner and Dominic Iorfa in the pecking order, Bates was demoted to the U23s and has spent the majority of the campaign in the reserves. It’s not a shock Wednesday won’t extend his stay for a few more weeks, it’s surprising that Bates is still here.
His eventual departure could see the Owls scour the transfer market for a replacement centre-back, but it remains to be seen who they’ll plump for. Garry Monk doesn’t have a lot of money for new signings, so he may have to consider another loan or free transfer.
