'I'll sign here' - John Fleck reveals what convinced him to join Sheffield United
John Fleck established himself as a modern-day hero at Bramall Lane after arriving at Sheffield United in July 2016.
Former Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck has said his decision to join the club in July 2016 was the best of his career, admitting a walk inside Bramall Lane instantly convinced him to make the move.
The now-34-year-old joined the Blades on a free transfer after rejecting the offer of a new contract at Coventry City. Fleck had starred for the Sky Blues in 2015/16, winning the club’s Player of the Year award.
After five successive seasons in League One, United, of course, turned to boyhood Blade Chris Wilder to try and guide them back to the Championship ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, and Fleck was one of a handful of players signed that summer that went on to play key roles in the club’s sharp progress under Wilder.
Fleck, who was recently released by Chesterfield, established himself as a modern-day legend at Bramall Lane, making 278 appearances for the club, scoring 16 goals. He was a two-time promotion winner with the Blades and scored the opening goal in their famous 4-2 win over arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in September 2017.
After enjoying seven-and-a-half successful years in S2, Fleck departed in February 2024 to join Blackburn Rovers.
Fleck told BBC Radio Sheffield: “I was at Coventry, I’d obviously played against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. I always loved going to play there, just with the fans and the atmosphere.
“A couple of years before that, I was supposed to go but it fell through. I’m thankful it didn’t [go through] now, because I might not have had the chance to go back. I met Chris [Wilder] and spoke to him for ten minutes. He’s like ‘have a walk out and see the stadium’. I had a walk out and just said to my agent at the time, I was like ‘I want to sign here, simple’.
“I was speaking to a few clubs at the time and I was like ‘no, I’ll sign here’. I had to go up to Glasgow and drive back down the next day to get it all sorted. [It was the] best decision I’ve made.”
Reflecting on his time at Bramall Lane, the Scot continued: “It was the best time in my career. I think that group of boys that was there would say the same thing.
“I think, in your career, you probably get one chance at [having] that sort of group of players we had. Anywhere else I’ve been, it’s never been the same.
“You don’t get that sort of changing room that we had there very often in your career. Thankfully I got to spend seven-and-a-half years there, a lot of them with the same people.
“Amazing memories, obviously [you’re] friends for life when you’ve been together for that long. I still get along very well with Chris.”