Former Sheffield United man Jake Wright makes intriguing career change
The 40-year-old formed part of Sheffield United’s League One title winning team in 2016/17
Former Sheffield United defender Jake Wright has taken up a new role in the world of education at a local school in the area.
The 40-year-old, who made his professional debut at Bradford City in 2005, enjoyed spells at Halifax Town, Crawley Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Oxford United before moving to Bramall Lane in 2016 during Chris Wilder’s first season as manager of the Blades.
Wright was a stalwart in Wilder’s backline in his debut campaign, making 29 appearances across all competitions as the team steamrolled their way to the League One title with an emphatic 100 points - ending a six year hiatus from the second tier in the process.
Wilder sang his praises at the time, telling The Star: “He’s never played at this level and, with respect, he views this as an opportunity to do something at the back end of his career. I love players like that. People who get the maximum out of their careers. It’s not been a glittering career with medals littered all over the place. But every manager he’s had will tell you what Jake is like.”
The centre-back featured less prominently after that promotion in 2017 but still played 17 times the following season at Championship level as Wilder’s men finished just outside the play-offs in a respectable 10th position.
Wright was on the books until 2020 and was around to see the club reach the Premier League, but didn’t feature at all in the league in any of his last two seasons - instead moving out on loan to Bolton Wanderers in his final campaign before having spells further down the pyramid at Mansfield Town, Boston and Grantham Town.
Throughout his career, Wright was renowned for his workrate, dedication and being a leader on the training pitch, qualities which the former defender will now look to transfer into a new line of work at Newfield School in the Norton Lees area of Sheffield.
The school’s official website lists him as the Head of Year 8 - meaning he’ll have an important role in pastoral care, wellbeing, and academic progress of that particular age group.