Walsall set for "judgment call" on plans for midfielder Ronan Maher this season

The 20-year-old, who signed a two-year deal earlier this summer, is yet to feature in a match day squad for Walsall in League Two so far this term. 

His only appearance was a 62-minute showing during the Saddlers' goalless draw at Stoke City, which ended in a 4-3 shoot-out defeat in the League Cup on August 12. 

Sadler insists academy graduate Maher still has a "future" at Bescot, but conceded that he is yet to reach a decision over the next step for Maher for the foreseeable future.

Walsall have a "judgement call to make" on Ronan Maher

"Ronan is so motivated to play. We have so many chats about game time, wanting him out there. We gave him a two-year deal in the summer for good reason and I see him as a big part of the future of this football club," Sadler said.

"For the here and now, he wants more game time so I have to look at that really closely and make a judgement call on whether it's right for him to be with us or if it's right for him to go out [on loan] and play. 

"That's a real fine line and it's a delicate balance because I clearly don't want him to be not playing football. But especially when he's getting to that end of the window and lots of games ahead, you also don't want to have someone not in who you think can contribute. 

"Do I see his future with us? I do, the key thing is that we've got some really good players in his position and our job will be to decide whether he's close enough to get into the team and the minutes he needs, or if it's best for him [to go out on loan]. 

"As it stands at the moment, there's nothing happening on that."

Walsall has bolstered his midfield ranks over the summer with Lewis Warrington signing from Leyton Orient and Jake Hollman joining from Macarthur FC in Australia. 

Ryan Finnigan also arrived on loan from Blackpool last week, while fellow summer signing Courtney Clarke has established himself as another strong midfield option. 

Maher, who has had loan spells at Rushall Olympic and Tamworth in the past two seasons, has scored once in 30 matches across all competitions for Walsall since his debut in 2022.