The Sheffield Wednesday phonecall that beat Premier League clubs to the signing of Chris Kirkland

The Midlands-born stopper, once of course of Liverpool and then a Premier League number one of some esteem with Wigan Athletic, found himself out of favour under then-boss Roberto Martinez and the subject of admiration from a number of clubs.

After six years at Wigan the summer of 2012 saw him out of contract and on the hunt for a new home.

Speaking to The Star, Kirkland stops short of revealing the names of the clubs but says ‘two or three’ top-tier clubs made an approach for his services along with a raft of clubs in the Championship.

“I never wanted to leave,” Kirkland said of his time with the Latics, “But I wasn't playing so I knew I had to get out.

“The last two years I didn't play that much, a lot of people thought I was injured, thought I wasn't as good anymore, but that wasn't the case. Roberto preferred Ali Al-Habsi to me and that was it. It had been a tough couple of years.

“I knew I needed to get out and I knew I had to get back to training with a British goalie coach. The last two years at Wigan I was training with a Spanish bloke who was a lovely chap, but the training just wasn't for me.

“That's why I lost my place, it wasn't as intense, it wasn't what I'd been brought up on. And I knew I had to go somewhere that had a British goalie coach with those old fashioned methods I was comfortable with.

“I like repetitions, hard work. It was different stuff, totally different from what had got me to where I was. I was going into games and I wasn't feeling as though I'd trained. I didn't feel sharp. Some sessions I'd come off and I'd think 'I've done nothing here'. My form dipped and I lost my place.”

A word down the football grapevine handed Wednesday this nugget of information and gave them the upper hand in what was an increasingly intense battle for Kirkland’s signature. The Owls broke with tradition and sent goalkeeping coach Andy Rhodes to make the approach, not then-manager Dave Jones.

“He rang me and told me he knew what I needed, he said that he'd heard I'd struggled with the training at Wigan and he said he'd get me back towards where I should be,” Kirkland said.

“It felt right. It wasn't the move that was the best financially, but it felt right for me.

“As soon as he said that, I spoke to Dave Jones and he said I'd love it. Weavs [current goalkeeping coach Nicky Weaver] was still there, Stephen Bywater. As soon as I went there it clicked and everything was good on the pitch. Everything to do with football at Sheffield Wednesday was brilliant.”

‘Everything to do with football’ is an important caveat. Kirkland’s struggles with mental health are well documented and came about from his very first journey to Wednesday’s Middlewood Road training ground.

A break in routine and the pressures of travel to and from his home in Liverpool built up and before long he was suffering from huge anxiety. Fearful of the reaction of club, players and the outside world, he told Wednesday it was his wife, not him, that was suffering problems.

Now 39 Kirkland works as an ambassador for good mental health practice. It was only on the first day of pre-season ahead of the 2015/16 season – as he arrived to sign a new contract with the club – that he revealed the scale of his problem to Wednesday.

“I just hoped I'd get used to it and come round and be OK, but it just slowly kept eating away at me,” Kirkland said.

“I spoke to them on the first day of pre-season 2015/16. I was going to sign, I was in my training gear. I had the pen in my hand. And then something went and I just said 'I can't do this, I need to go. I need to get home'. It all came out not long after that.”

Having enjoyed two stellar seasons as number one from 2012 to 2014, Keiren Westwood arrived and Kirkland spent the majority of his final season on the bench. Having seen off the challenges of Bywater, Weaver and on-loan Arsenal youngster Emiliano Martinez in his time, the Westwood pill was one Kirkland found easier to swallow.

“By then I was really suffering with my mental health so, to be honest, it was a bit of a relief,” he said.

“By the end of the second season I was struggling to concentrate in games and my form dipped a little bit. Westy is a top keeper anyway and he did brilliantly for Wednesday. We had a great relationship.

“I don't know what the situation is now, it's unfortunate and we don't know what's gone on but he's an excellent goalkeeper and he proved his worth when he came in. He won player of the season so I had no arguments whatsoever.”

And Kirkland has hopes of returning to sample the buzz of a Hillsborough matchday one more time.

“I was going to come over and do the raffle one match last year, but something came up. Because of the way things happened at Wednesday I never really got the chance to say goodbye.

“It’s a huge, historic club and the fans are brilliant. And I’d like that chance to say goodbye properly.”