Whelan I understand less because of his age and Prem wages, but if Guthrie was available cheaply I wouldn't object too much. Fox isn't getting used, so if we sold him and replaced him with Guthrie, at perhaps a net cost of £1m + a bit in wages, then that looks like reasonable business to me. We're replacing an unused 30 year old with a 26 year old that Hughton might be prepared to use as rotation, or at least feel more comfortable using if we get short on players through injuries.
It's a squad game, and we need quality throughout the 25 man squad. Guthrie might not be the signing to turn our season around, but having a bit more depth is no bad thing.