Billy Sharp has claimed that Sheffield Wednesday tried to sign him on two occasions.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, the striker revealed that he could have made the controversial move to Hillsborough whilst he was playing for their rivals.
Born in Sheffield, Billy Sharp began his career with Sheffield United. The forward enjoyed three separate spells with the Blades, most recently spending eight years at Bramall Lane as he racked up over 370 appearances all together.
Sharp scored 129 goals for United and helped them win promotion three times, before he was released in the summer.
Sharp played for LA Galaxy last season before returning to England, where he is now without a club.
The forward is a fan favourite at Sheffield United, but his career could have panned out very differently if he had agreed to join Sheffield Wednesday.
Speaking on the podcast, Sharp revealed two approaches that the Owls made for his signature.
He said: “Under Brian Laws when the ground was underwater … Dave Jones tried to sign me as well. I just didn’t see the benefit of me going there.”
Would Sheffield Wednesday have welcomed Billy Sharp?
Hillsborough was heavily flooded back in 2007, at which point Sharp had only actually made a handful of appearances for the Blades. The second time would have been between 2012 and 2013, when the 37-year-old was playing for Southampton.
Sharp opted against joining his club’s fierce rivals and did eventually get his long-awaited return to Yorkshire – first with Leeds United and then back to Sheffield.
Billy Sharp is undeniably a very good striker, but it certainly wouldn’t have gone down very well if he had arrived at Hillsborough.
Though given that he his third spell with United saw him named Sheffield United Player of the Year twice, as well as being named in the PFA Team of the Year and EFL Team of the Season (x2), it would have been interesting to see the impact he would have had on the Owls.