Wanderers have moved to re-shape their goalkeeping department with the capture of Jack Bonham from Stoke City.
The experienced Bonham joins the Whites on an 18-month deal, with loan signing Teddy Sharman-Lowe returning to parent club Chelsea.
Sharman-Lowe, 22, heads back to the Premier League club after starting 22 games in League One for Wanderers in the first half of the season and making a farewell appearance in Tuesday night’s Vertu Trophy defeat to Port Vale.
Bonham, who previously played under Wanderers’ boss Steven Schumacher at Stoke, arrives at the Toughsheet Community Stadium with over 250 senior appearances under his belt.
The 32-year-old started over 50 Championship games for Stoke, as well as having a brief taste of action in the second tier for Watford and Brentford earlier in his career.
He has also experienced life in League One on loan at Bristol Rovers and in a two-season spell at Gillingham where he played 89 times as first choice between the posts prior to a move to Stoke in June, 2021.
Bonham has since made 65 appearances for the Potters – including two in the Carabao Cup this season with his match-winning penalty taking Stoke past Walsall in round one – and now takes on a fresh challenge with Wanderers as he aims to help Schumacher’s men revive their promotion push in the coming weeks.
“We've worked together before. He (Schumacher) knows what I'm capable of. He knows I can play at this level and above and it was a no-brainer for me when this came up,” Bonham told Wanderers TV.
“I needed to get out and play and obviously things were evolving at Stoke and the opportunity arose here. It was one that I jumped at. A club this size and an opportunity to play again was something I couldn't turn down.
“Seeing the last few years where they've been and where they could be, I wanted to come and be part of that and hopefully be part of the journey of getting them back towards the Premier League.”
Bonham’s debut could come in Saturday’s derby at Wigan Athletic, with the Stevenage-born keeper – who was capped at youth level by the Republic of Ireland – keen to play his part in helping Wanderers’ end their recent winless run to re-assert themselves in the promotion race.
“I think every team has a bad spell throughout the season and still being sixth and going through that is a positive position to be in, as long as you can string a few results together in the second half of the season and keep pushing towards those automatic places, which I'm sure we'll do,” he added.
“It's obviously part of the conversations we've had in terms of where the club needs to go and it's part of the journey that I want to be on.
“Saturday is a massive game for the club and a great game to step into. I know how important it is to the fans. I'm super-excited to be involved in the game and hopefully we can start off on the right foot and get the win.”
Watch Jack’s first interview as a Whites' player on Wanderers TV.