Why should Sheffield Wednesday sign Liam Ridgewell
According to reports in Birmingham Mail, Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell is planning to return to England and finish his career at his native country. The 34-year-old has expressed his desire to return after he left for MLS in 2014 and play for the Timbers.
The centre-back is now struggling to get regular playing time in America, part of the reason why he wants to come back to England and play football. (Birmingham Mail) He has played for Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Birmingham City, West Brom, Wigan Athletic and Brighton before.
It is clear that few clubs might get interested in acquiring the services of the 34-year-old, probably for a season or two. However, Sheffield Wednesday should keep close tabs on the player and make an offer whenever he lands in England. Here’s why:
Wednesday need a quality centre-back
Sheffield Wednesday have made a mediocre start to the season under Jos Luhukay. They are lying in 17th position in the table with just 19 points from 16 games. The Owls are four points ahead of the drop zone, and seven points behind the playoff spots. Hence, the panic station creeping is understandable.
Furthermore, having conceded 30 goals (joint-most so far along with Preston) is alarming to say the least. They shipped in four at home to Norwich City in the weekend’s game and looked out of depth whenever the Canaries went forward.
Therefore, it is imperative that the club tries to find some solution. The best way would be to sign a new centre-back, partly to increase the quality and partly to enhance the competition among defenders in the squad.
Ridgewell is a prodigious player who can operate as a centre-back or as a fullback when required. He played 15 games for the Timbers over the past year and impressed many in the MLS. He is comfortable on either foot and spreads calm around the back-line.
Wednesday would do nicely with someone like him in the squad to improve their defence. For them to succeed in the Championship, they need to stop teams from scoring freely. Currently, the concession rate is around two per game, which isn’t good enough to sustain a season of 46 games. They might flirt with relegation if proper care is not taken in the near future.
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Hence, it makes sense for their point of view to look for solutions, and none better than signing Ridgewell on a short-term basis.