Walsall have announced the signing of midfielder Ryan Stirk on a two-year deal following the expiration of his contract with Birmingham City, as confirmed by a statement on the clubs official website.
The 22-year old has been out of loan for each of the last two seasons and it appeared as though he was not in the plans at St. Andrew’s. He’ll be joining a Walsall side, who finished a disappointing 16th place last season.
It’ll be a summer of change at the Bescot Stadium, following the dismissal of manager Michael Flynn in April. Ex-player Mat Sadler stepped in for the rest of the season, and has now been appointed on a permanent basis. Having started his career with Birmingham, Sadler no doubt still has connections with the Blues and that would’ve certainly helped this deal get over the line. Stirk is the Saddlers first signing of the summer, and there will be plenty more names coming through the doors at the Bescot Stadium now that the transfer window is open.
Who is Ryan Stirk?
Having joined Birmingham City as a 10-year-old, Stirk represented the club at each level, including making four appearances for the first team. The midfielder would however never see consistent minutes, and was loaned out for each of the previous two seasons. His first loan spell was to League Two side Mansfield, making 36 appearances as he helped the Stags reach the play-off final. They would lose the final 3-0 to Port Vale, with Stirk being an unused sub.
The following season saw the 22-year-old stay at St. Andrews for the first half of the season before joining National League side Bromley in February. He would make 14 appearances during his stay with Bromley and once again played a part of helping a team to the play-offs. Although beating Woking in the eliminator, they bowed out to Chesterfield in the semi-finals, where Stirk was a starter. The Welshman is equally as comfortable as a deep-lying midfielder as he is a central, creative midfielder and having been capped numerous times by the Welsh under-21s, plenty of progression is expected in the forthcoming season.
What’s been said?
On joining the Saddlers, the young midfielder said:
“I’m delighted to get it done.
“I’ve known for a few weeks that Walsall have been interested. It’s local to me, I’ve got a young family and it’s a move that I wanted to get done as soon as I heard about it.
“I’ve worked with the gaffer before when I was a bit younger at Birmingham when he took a few sessions there so I know him, I spoke to him and he sold it to me.
“It’s a great club and I’m looking forward to get going and working with him.”
Speaking on his first signing of the window, Sadler said:
“He’s someone that I’ve known for quite a considerable time through my connections at Birmingham.
“He was somebody in previous times that I would have liked to have brought to the football club but I’m really chuffed it’s come together for me to get him now.
“Ryan is the type of player who wants to pass forward, play through the lines, he wants to receive the football and he wants to get on the ball.”
Writer’s view
Stirk will be the first of many signings this summer for manager Mat Saddler, and the signing is a good starting point. At just 22, Stirk has plenty of potential for growth and he is far from a finished product. He’ll likely challenge for a starting spot in pre-season, and should see consistent minutes across the year. Walsall will need to be shrewd with their signings this summer if they want to be competitive in League Two next season.
