Sheffield Wednesday confirm ninth summer signing as ex-Arsenal man joins to bolster defence

The 21-year-old right-footed defender comes in after Darren Moore admitted they were on the lookout for reinforcements at the back following the long-term injury suffered by Akin Famewo earlier this month.

McGuinness, who spent the early years of his career with Premier League giants Arsenal, joins Michael Ihiekwe, Ben Heneghan, Dominic Iorfa and Liam Palmer as players who would count playing in a back three as something of a specialism, with the likes of Reece James able to deputise.

The Slough-born Republic of Ireland youth international played a major part for Cardiff City last season, making 35 appearances including 34 in the Championship, and has League One experience after spending some of the 202/21 season on loan from Arsenal at Ipswich Town.

A six-foot-four man mountain, McGuinness has been described as capable with the ball at feet, an attribute that suits Darren Moore’s preferred style of play at S6 and aged 21 he continues the club’s balanced recent policy of mixing youth with experience in recruitment.

This latest development continues a busy summer of transformation at Hillsborough. Further defensive additions are not necessarily expected at this stage, though Darren Moore and the club’s recruitment team are on the lookout for further signings elsewhere in the squad.

Areas the club are looking to add to are in attack and in back-up goalkeeping.

McGuinness looks to have been registered in time to make the squad for Saturday’s difficult trip to Bolton Wanderers.