David Bruce helped bring Lionel Messi to MLS - now could he tempt Jamie Vardy to Sheffield Wednesday?
Could David Bruce be the man to tempt Jamie Vardy to Sheffield Wednesday?
There is no getting away from the fact that it is a massive long shot. Maybe not Leicester City 5,000/1, but it is slim.
Why would a player of Jamie Vardy’s quality want to play for League One Sheffield Wednesday? He has won the Premier League, FA Cup and played in the Champions League and for England. He has had a remarkable rise from non-league. It will probably never happen again.
He has just scored a respectable amount of goals for a relegated side in Serie A. Because he came into professional football quite late, his legs are probably fresher than players who are five, maybe 10, years younger than him. He is 39 now but in football terms he is probably younger than that. So he probably feels he can still play at a high level. Higher than League One, anyway.
Let’s face it, he is not going to be short of offers. There will be clubs in England and abroad who will want to sign him. One thing that is in Wednesday’s favour is that they are the team he supports. He was in the academy as a teenager and attended matches at Hillsborough. That side of it might appeal to him. Scoring goals for his boyhood club feels like it should be part of the Vardy story. It has a fairytale, romance angle to it. But I don’t know whether that will draw him or not. He might not be bothered about that possible story.
But, should he be open to it, I think Wednesday have got the perfect operator in David Bruce to help convince him. To twist his arm. At the recent supporters’ trust AGM, the new CEO had everyone hanging on his every word. He was so impressive. He was instantly likeable, warm and engaging. He could be Wednesday’s secret weapon in negotiations.
Bruce was part of a team that helped bring Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer. And it got me thinking. If he can do that, then perhaps he could tempt Vardy to join The Owls. Maybe he could sell the story of the ‘new Wednesday’ to him like no one else can. If they could at least have a conversation, if they could get together round a table, then based on what I have read, heard and seen from Bruce so far, I would back him to put together the best pitch possible and leave no stone unturned.
What also got my brain whirring away was when Bruce said Wednesday need to take the ‘opportunities’ that present themselves in the transfer market. Interesting. And David Storch seems like a man who likes a challenge. He has not got where he is today and achieved what he has without having that mentality.
Look, it seems unlikely. Wednesday are in the third-tier and have some financial limitations. Their offer probably wouldn’t be the highest he would receive. So it depends how much finances are a motivation for him. He might not even entertain it. As fans, we only dream about playing for our club. But not all players think like that.
Will it happen? Probably not. But with Bruce and Storch at the centre of it, Wednesday have probably never been in a better position to at least try.