Of all Sheffield Wednesday’s shiny summer signings – a 36-year-old keeper could prove to be the best

In less than a week, the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper will be 37. And it is because of his age that it’s fair to say not every Owls supporter was enamoured with the news of his signing back in the summer.

Eight matches into his Wednesday career, the Yorkshire-born stopper has five clean sheets but brings with him much more than goalkeeping ability; his is an infectious personality and a calming influence on a squad under huge pressure to achieve promotion from League One this season.

In Tuesday evening’s 3-0 win at Morecambe, it was Stockdale who grasped the Owls’ first truly important individual moment by flicking away Donald Love’s well-struck ball across goal. The score was 0-0. Anything could have happened.

“It was a really important save,” Darren Moore said afterwards. “They had four attempts at goal but Stocky pulled off a great save from one of them.

“Had that gone in, who knows how it could have gone?

“We kept the clean sheet so I have got no complaints in terms of the performance and the result. The icing on the cake was the clean sheet for us.”

Having laughed off the comments of unimpressed Wednesday fans on social media soon after his signing, Stockdale made all the right noises; about wanting to improve the goalkeepers already at the club, about shouldering the responsibility of being a senior player and so on.

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He said it with earnest and proved it within his first weeks in charge, spending extra time on the training ground with Pierce Charles in Portugal and taking time to impart advice on the other youngsters in the squad.

There’s been moments when Wednesday have conceded corners late on in games when he has held impromptu team talks with his defenders and when he has used his nous to slow games down at opportune moments. In terms of leaders, he is one.

“Stocky has been superb in terms of what he has brought us,” Moore said. “When you talk about him as a character, he is a wonderful, approachable man. He is the centre of attraction in the dressing room.

“He is very, very friendly with all the team in a group or as individuals. He is a top, top level goalkeeper in terms of where he has played in his career.

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“It has been wonderful for us to bring in someone of his ilk and vast experience in the game.”

There is of course no need to crown a ‘best signing of the summer’ at Sheffield Wednesday – the sum of Wednesday’s parts will be the only decider on whether this season is a success or a failure – but the signing of Stockdale on a free transfer from Wycombe Wanderers will edge them closer to their end goal.

With 18 clean sheets in his 46 appearances, he shared the League One golden glove last time out as his side fell at the play-off final stage.

Early days though these are, he’s well ahead of schedule to beat that tally with Wednesday this season.