Walsall look to keep ace Emmanuel Ledesma

Boss Dean Smith today revealed he will try to tempt Emmanuel Ledesma to stay at Walsall beyond the end of the season.

The Saddlers chief is keen on keeping his returning star after the Argentine ace re-signed for the club for the last 11 games last week.

Ledesma, who left the Saddlers last summer after 10 outings, is in line to face Sheffield Wednesday tonight after starting Saturday's luckless 2-1 defeat at Yeovil.

And Smith confirmed he will seek talks with the playmaker to try to nail down a fresh deal.

He said: "It's something we're going to chat about at the end of the season. He's looking for something more permanent and hopefully we can do that and he can return with his girlfriend and his baby.

"He came in linked up well on Saturday and he got into some great positions. He took a while to get on the pace of the game but once he did he did well.

"We thought we'd throw him in. He trained well, looked bright and we had a behind closed doors friendly and he played in that. He's got a great touch and great ability and I thought he linked up well with Jon Macken."

Smith offered the 23-year-old playmaker a contract after he helped the Saddlers to their Great Escape last season but Ledesma opted to return to Argentina.

He trained with the squad last week before penning a deal on Friday to boost Smith's attacking options.

Ledesma is in line to start again at Hillsborough tonight with Smith, who turned 41 yesterday, due to return to his former club.

Wednesday are third in League One, level on points with promotion and city rivals Sheffield United in second, and Smith urged his men to be fearless.

"They are on a decent run under Dave Jones so will obviously be a little bit different (to last time)," said Smith, who made 62 appearances for Wednesday between 2003 and 2004. "It'll be a good crowd there with them challenging for promotion so we've got to take our own game to them and see what they can do.

"Saturday was just one of those things and you have to dust yourself down. It will be a tough game, a big crowd and we look forward to it."