Chris Wilder has admitted that Sheffield United tried to sign Conor Coady from Wolverhampton Wanderers before he truly established himself at Molineux, while speaking to the Star.
It is hard to believe now that, before Nuno Espirito Santo was unveiled in the Black Country during the summer of 2017, a former Liverpool youngster was facing an uncertain future in Old Gold.
Coady looked like the jack of all trades but the master of not very much at Wolves, trying his hand in a whole host of positions while never really nailing down a guaranteed place in the starting XI.
That all changed, however, when Nuno introduced the three-man backline that kick-started Wolves’s transformation from Championship also-rans into genuine Champions League chasers.
Coady is now one of the first names on the team-sheet with the captain’s armband clasped around his bicep, winning almost everything in the air while turning defence into attack with one of those trademark 60-yard diagonals.
And, ahead of Wolves’ visit to Bramall Lane tomorrow, Wilder has admitted that he would have loved to bring Coady to Yorkshire.
“They are well led by their skipper, someone who I really admire and tried to bring to Bramall Lane,” the former Oxford and Northampton boss says.
“We tried to get him at the time Nuno landed and we were hoping he would try to sign a Portguese centre-half.
“The boy from Liverpool, he carries himself so well and is a great captain.”
Considering that Sheffield United have mirrored Wolves’ preference for a three-man backline, you’d imagine that Coady would have fit in perfectly at Bramall Lane.
Then again, with Chris Basham, John Egan and Jack O’Connell in the form of their lives, Blades fans won’t be losing too much sleep about this ‘one that got away’.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
