Chris Coleman admits he tried to sign Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause during his time in charge of Sunderland, speaking to Sky Sports (19 May, 6.05pm).
During the first season of that now-infamous Netlix documentary, Sunderland’s then-chief executive Martin Bain revealed more than he may have intended to – and we don’t just mean his preferred swimming stroke.
During a transfer meeting with the club’s board, a giant piece of paper was spotted in the background.
On it was a lengthy list of players the Black Cats intended to target during the January 2018 transfer window.
Three years on, many of those players have become Premier League regulars, including Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Scott McTominay and Ashley Westwood.
And while Hause’s name didn’t appear on that winding and ambitious list, he was also a target for a Sunderland side that would go on to suffer a second successive relegation during Coleman’s ill-fated six-month spell in charge at the Stadium of Light.
“I like Kortney Hause. I remember some years ago we looked at him when I was at Sunderland as maybe a loan deal,” explains the former Fulham, Wales and Real Sociedad boss.
“We couldn’t get him but he’s done really, really well since he’s come into this Villa team.”
After struggling to break into the first team at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hause would eventually make the short trip across the Midlands, joining Aston Villa in a £3 million deal.
And while Sunderland are scrapping to get out of League One at the third time of asking – a dream that could die a death following a play-off first-leg defeat to Lincoln City – Hause has developed into a solid Premier League centre-back at a Villa side that secured an impressive 2-1 win at Tottenham last night.
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