Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014
Early career Born in
Brierley Hill,
West Midlands, He captained the youth team and overcame a dislocated shoulder in his reserve team debut, aged 16. He was one of seven academy graduates to sign a professional deal at the end of the
2008–09 season.
Loan to Colchester United Batth had his first taste of first-team football when he was signed by
Aidy Boothroyd for
League One club
Colchester United on loan on 17 September 2009. He made his
Football League and professional debut two days later, starting in central defence alongside
Magnus Okuonghae in a 2–0 win over
Hartlepool United and earning the
man of the match award. After making five starts during his first month with the club, his loan was extended until the end of the season at the
Colchester Community Stadium. On 20 February 2010, Batth scored his first professional goal with a header from a
David Prutton corner to secure a 1–0 victory against
Oldham Athletic. Batth made 17 league starts for Colchester and made one substitute appearance, scoring one goal. Colchester occupied a
play-off position during a large part of Batth's spell.
Loan to Sheffield United On his return to
Molineux, Batth was named "Young Professional of the Year" at the club's end of season dinner. Three months later, he joined
Sheffield United on loan for one month, where he would make just a single substitute league appearance His spell ended having made ten league appearances for the club. In December 2011, the loan was extended to the end of the season, as the Owls challenged for promotion to the
Championship. He scored in a 2–0 away win at
Preston North End on New Year's Eve 2011, and a second league goal on 10 March 2012 in a 3–0 win against
Bournemouth at
Hillsborough. Batth finished his second stay at Sheffield Wednesday having totalled 49 appearances in all competitions, and having been part of their promotion as League One runners-up. Back in Wolves' colours, he scored the opening goal in a League Cup defeat of
Northampton Town on 30 August 2012, and then scored his first league goal for Wolves with a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw with
Leeds United on 9 February 2013. In his first full season in the Wolves first-team, Batth accumulated twelve league and two cup appearances in addition to his two goals. Following Wolves' relegation to League One, the club installed
Kenny Jackett as head coach for the
2013–14 season. One of his first acts as manager was to give Batth the vice-captaincy at the club. Wolves enjoyed a hugely successful season and gained automatic promotion back to the Championship with four games to spare. Batth was the only ever-present in the promotion-winning side, playing all 46 league games in a season where Wolves won the League One title with a division record of 103 points. In January 2014 he signed a long-term deal with the club that ran until summer 2017. Batth was also named in the
PFA League One Team of the Year. The
2014–15 season was Batth's first as a regular in the Championship. He remained as the only ever-present since Jackett's arrival, playing in every game of a side that had won 50 out of 86 games. Wolves got off to a positive start, maintaining a play-off position until mid-November as Batth formed a solid partnership with
Richard Stearman. The club held the best defensive record in the league for the majority of the season, keeping 15 clean sheets along the way. In December 2014, Batth scored an 88th-minute equaliser for Wolves in a 1–1 draw against
Brighton & Hove Albion at Molineux. A string of commanding performances led to rumours of interest from local rivals
Aston Villa. Wolves continued to be in the hunt for the play-offs with two games to play of the season but missed out on goals scored to
Ipswich Town. On 23 April it was revealed that Batth was facing a three-month layoff due to a stress fracture to his foot. Batth played 39 times for Wolves in
2015–16 as they finished in 14th position. On 22 September 2016, the day after his 26th birthday, he signed a new four-year contract with Wolves to potentially tie him to the club until summer 2020. On 1 April 2017, Batth scored twice against
Cardiff City moving Wolves eight points clear of the relegation zone. He scored in the final match of the
2016–17 season, a 1–0 win against
Preston North End which secured 15th place for Wolves. Portuguese manager
Nuno Espírito Santo was appointed ahead of the
2017–18 campaign which proved a very successful one for Wolves as they won the Championship title with 99 points.
Loan to Middlesbrough On 31 August 2018, Batth returned to the
Championship, after joining
Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal, after falling out of favour with Wolves, after they had been promoted to the
Premier League. Batth made 13 appearances under
Tony Pulis at Middlesbrough before his loan was cut short in January 2019.
Stoke City Batth joined
Stoke City on 29 January 2019 on a three-and-a-half-year contract for a fee understood to be an initial £3 million. Batth made his Stoke debut on 2 February 2019 against
Hull City and was given the captain's armband by
Nathan Jones in the absence of
Ryan Shawcross. Batth played 17 times in the remainder of the
2018–19 season as Stoke finished in 16th place. Batth scored his first goal for Stoke in an
EFL Cup tie against
Leeds United on 27 August 2019. Stoke made a poor start to the
2019–20 season failing to win any of the first ten matches under Jones. Speaking in May 2020 Batth said he believed that Stoke made such a poor start because Jones brought in too many new players. Jones was replaced by
Michael O'Neill in November and results began to improve. Batth scored in three of the final four matches as Stoke gained ten points to avoid relegation and finish in 15th position. In the
2020–21 season, Batth made 32 appearances as Stoke finished in 14th position.
Sunderland On 18 January 2022, Batth joined League One side
Sunderland on a free transfer, signing an eighteen-month deal. He scored his first goal for Sunderland against
Cambridge United on 23 April 2022.
Norwich City Batth joined
Norwich City on a one-year contract in September 2023.
Blackburn Rovers On 1 August 2024, Batth joined
Blackburn Rovers on a one-year deal having almost joined the club the previous summer. On 19 May 2025, the club announced it had offered the player a new contract.
Derby County On 1 July 2025, Batth joined Championship side
Derby County on a one-year deal. On 9 August 2025, Batth made his debut for Derby in a 3–1 league defeat at
Stoke City. ==International career==