Sheffield Wednesday youngster making strides with loan boost – time ticking on big decision over future

Left-sided wing-back Ryan Galvin turns 22 in January and has his work cut out when it comes to his breaking into the Wednesday first team given the presence of Marvin Johnson, Reece James and Jaden Brown ahead of him in the pecking order.

Such is the competition in that area of the pitch, Wednesday felt able to allow the highly-rated former Wigan Athletic man out to continue his development with an initial two-month loan with National League side Maidstone United, managed by Darren Moore’s former Torquay United and Doncaster Rovers teammate Hakan Hayrettin.

Galvin was sent out on loan with the brief to maintain his form over an extended period, something he has done in an impressive 10 matches with the relegation-threatened club so much so that he was handed their player of the month award for October.

The award was decided via a vote by Maidstone fans, with Galvin achieving over half (51%) of the votes.

Speaking shortly after Galvin’s switch to the Kent club was confirmed, Owls boss Moore spoke of his desire to see the youngster rack up ‘20 or 30’ appearances with a non-league club following his experience-building stint with National League North outfit Gloucester City last season.

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With the initial agreement over his loan move set to come to an end in the coming week or so, it remains to be seen whether Galvin’s fledgling stint at Maidstone will be extended.

Galvin has made four senior appearances for the Owls since his arrival from Wigan in 2020 and has appeared as a left-sided centre-back in friendly football for the club.

Though Wednesday continue to navigate injury issues at the back and Ciaran Brennan can’t be recalled from Swindon Town until January, it may well be that Moore decides to launch the extension option in the Maidstone deal.

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“They need that game time,” he said. “Consequently when they come back, they will be a bit nearer to your first team because they have played first team football on the front line.”