Sheffield United: Promotion hero Jake Wright admits he has no complaints over Bramall Lane exit after joining Bolton Wanderers
Jake Wright, a double promotion-winner with Sheffield United, admits he can have no complaints about his exit from Bramall Lane after joining Bolton Wanderers on deadline day.
The centre-half made the switch to Bolton on loan, after their takeover was approved and nine players arrived on the last day of the transfer window.
Wright helped United win the League One title with a remarkable personal unbeaten run – winning 22 and drawing six of his 28 starts - and made the step-up to the Championship as well, deputising in the absence of Richard Stearman.
The arrival of John Egan the following summer, in what was a club-record deal at the time, pushed him down the pecking order and his last appearance for United’s first team came in April 2018, before he suffered a nasty facial injury in a pre-season game at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
And, speaking to the Bolton News, Wright said: “I was disappointed to come out of that team but the manager had paid big money for some players so I can understand from a football point of view why it had to happen.
“That [the injury] was a big blow for me because I was out of the side for three or four months and then by the time I got back the team was absolutely flying.
“I wasn’t getting in the team, wasn’t really getting in the squad.
“To a man they were brilliant, getting promotion. So I can’t really sit here and complain. When a team progresses like that there are bound to be casualties and in this case, I was one of them.”
Wright’s contract at Bramall Lane expires this summer and he was left out of United’s 25-man squad submitted to the Premier League.
“I could have stayed and seen out my contract, not really being involved at Sheffield United,” he added. “But I wanted to play football and when the manager [Keith Hill] contacted me to say he wanted me I knew straight away it would be a good move.”