How Danny Batth fared for Stoke City, his obvious strengths and where he will fit in at Sunderland

After starting the season on the fringes of the Potters’ squad, the 31-year-old had won his place back and impressed over nine consecutive Championship starts up until January 3.

It will therefore come as a surprise to some that Batth has decided to drop down a league to try and help Sunderland in League One – a division he has won promotion from at Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves.

Upon the defender’s arrival at the Stadium of Light, Black Cats boss Lee Johnson described Batth as, ‘a dominant centre back’ who has a ‘great personality.’

The term dominant is certainly accurate when you look at Batth’s aerial duel in the Championship this season, with the 6 ft 3 defender winning 72 per cent of them according to Wyscout.

That’s significantly higher than Sunderland’s other centre-backs Bailey Wright (52.1 per cent), Tom Flanagan (54.2 per cent) and Callum Doyle (44 per cent) in the league this campaign.

Johnson, who previously tried to sign Batth while at Bristol City, will believe he’s getting an upgrade to strengthen his team’s backline - which has been worryingly penetrable in recent weeks.

While the Black Cats head coach has encouraged his team to build attacks from the back, clearly more emphasis is needed on keeping the ball out of Sunderland’s net.

The team have conceded seven goals in their last three matches, with costly mistakes weakening their position in the League One promotion race.

Johnson will hope Batth’s arrival can tighten things up, and the centre-back’s other defensive stats are encouraging.

The 31-year-old has averaged 5.94 clearances per 90 minutes in the league this season, which is once again higher than Wright (3.75), Flanagan (3.78) and Doyle (2.74).

This may give the impression that Batth is a non-nonsense centre-back whose first thought is to clear any danger, yet Batth’s passing accuracy is also pretty high at 85 per cent.

Still, the defender’s distribution appears to be limited, while it should be noted he has often played in the middle of a back three for Stoke.

This means there has been less licence for Batth to step out with the ball and help his team advance up the pitch.

That is reflected in the stats, which show Batth has attempted 3.15 passes into the final third per 90 minutes, a lower figure than Wright (6.06), Flanagan (6.7) and Doyle (7.29).

Yet Batth’s defensive qualities mean there’s a strong chance he will come straight into the side against Portsmouth on Saturday, and become a regular starter for the Black Cats.

If Johnson elects to stick with a back four, Batth appears naturally suited to playing in the right-sided centre-back role, with Wright still filling in at right-back.

Wright’s role could change if Johnson opts to move Carl Winchester back to the right side of defence, or if Sunderland sign another player in that position.

If that occurs, it may mean Wright is an option to compete with Doyle for the left-sided centre-back role, a position the Aussie has operated in during cup competitions this term.

All will become clearer in the coming weeks, yet Batth’s arrival should certainly help improve Sunderland’s rearguard.

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