‘I thought I was there to sign’ – Eric Cantona was surprised by his Sheffield Wednesday ‘trial’

Cantona went on to become one of the biggest names in the Premier League after joining Manchester United and helping them to a whole host of trophies, and before that he played a crucial role in Leeds United’s last top-flight title back in 1991/92.

Things could have been very different, however, had he signed for the Owls – but he turned down an extended trial spell in order to join their Yorkshire rivals from Nîmes instead.

Speaking to BT Sport earlier this year, the 56-year-old suggested that he’d have been a Wednesday player without the trial spell. His only public outing, though, was in a 6-6 draw with Baltimore Blast in the Transatlantic Challenge at Sheffield Arena.

When asked if not signing him was the Owls’s biggest mistake, Cantona replied with a smile, “I don’t know, you should ask Trevor Francis.”

The Red Devils legend went on to explain that he thought he was coming to Sheffield to put pen to paper, so was surprised when he was told that it was actually a trial spell.

“I didn’t know it was a trial,” he explained. “I thought I was there to sign, and after a week they said I had to spend one more week on trial.

“It says a lot about the difference with foreign players, or French players, because I played for the French national team at this time. I played for the French national team and was at Sheffield Wednesday, and they said I was on trial.

“Now things have changed, you have maybe 60 players from France, you have two or three French national team players who play in England.

“But at that time I was one of the good French players playing for the national team… And I was on trial with Sheffield Wednesday!”

The season Cantona joined Leeds saw them win the title just seven points clear of Wednesday, who finished third, and who knows what could have happened if he’d ended up in blue and white instead.

MORE: Left-field substitution showed area Owls are ‘depleted’