Simon Grayson and Jack Ross have both tried to bring Sheffield United defender Ben Heneghan to League One giants Sunderland.
Could Sunderland be on their way to completing a transfer that was two years in the making?
According to The Chronicle in August 2017, The Black Cats were interested in bringing Ben Heneghan to the Stadium of Light after he rejected a new contract at Motherwell.
At the time, the Manchester-born centre-back was making a name for himself as one of the more promising young defenders in Britain and he had a whole host of clubs from both sides of the border chasing his signature.
But with Sunderland targeting Heneghan again two years on, according to the Northern Echo, he could potentially be on his way to Wearside with his reputation a shadow of what it was a few seasons ago.
He swapped Motherwell for Sheffield United in the summer of 2017 but he’s failed to make a single league appearance for The Blades in two years. In fact, his only action since that stellar spell at Motherwell has come during a loan spell at Blackpool.
Not that this has put Sunderland off.
Jack Ross needs further options at centre-back despite the addition of former Coventry City captain Jordan Willis over the weekend and Henegan has now proven himself in League One after catching the eye at Bloomfield Road.
Now, there aren’t too many similarities between Ross and Simon Grayson, Sunderland’s manager in 2017. But they do have one thing in common; they are both fans of Heneghan.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
