Following the recall of Munroe back to Aston Villa so he could sign for Middlesbrough, Swindon have been trying to find a way of replacing his presence down the left side.
Six assists and two goals had made him one of their star performers this season, with Tom Wilson-Brown, Billy Kirkman, Joel McGregor, and Joe Snowdon not quite able to provide the same balance of attacking thrust and defensive solidity.
However, when asked if he thought he had a solution to this issue ahead of the trip to Harrogate Town on Tuesday, Ian Holloway simply replied, “It’ll all take care of itself by the end of it.”
That solution has now become clear with the addition of Batty from The Trotters, as first reported by The Moonraker.
The young full-back spent last season with Accrington Stanley, where he won their Players’ Young Player of the Year award, and now steps up to the top end of League Two to help power Town’s left side.
Batty has also featured for Blackburn in the Carabao Cup on two occasions, but most of his senior football so far has come at Accrington.
He is likely to partner up with Manchester United’s James Scanlon, who is a left winger that Swindon have also agreed to sign.
Swindon are still on the hunt for a third signing of the final day of the window, as they target a more experienced attacking option.
Whilst with Accrington last term, Batty created 0.79 chances per 90 minutes and also completed 81.3 per cent of his dribbles as an attacking force on the left, whilst also ranking in the top 15 per cent of full-backs for interceptions and blocked shots per 90 minutes.
Town have moved between a back three and back four at times this season, and Batty’s ability to play as both a conventional full-back and wing-back has appealed to Swindon, as he can defend whilst also getting forward.
Batty has three caps for England Under-17s, two of which came in friendlies against Scotland, whilst he also started a qualifier against Luxembourg in 2022 and was a substitute against France.
As part of that experience, Batty played alongside Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, Tottenham Hotspur’s Archie Gray, and Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly, whilst France had Paris Saint-Germain duo Desire Doue and Warren Zaire-Emery.