Aston Villa released Wrexham star for nothing – now he's worth millions | OneFootball

Callum O'Hare sealed his latest career switch on Deadline Day

Callum O'Hare has become a household name in the Championship across recent seasons, especially during his spells with Coventry City and Sheffield United.

However, in his latest career move, the 28-year-old has opted to become a part of the ambitious project Wrexham are continuing to build in North Wales.

The Red Dragons are hoping that, in the coming years, the hefty investment plugged in from American and Canadian actors, Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds, sees them reach the promised land of the Premier League for the first time in their history.

Having come so close to reaching the Championship play-offs off the back of a record-breaking run of three promotions in as many seasons, Phil Parkinson has added further sprinkles of proven quality and experience in the division in an attempt to go one better this time, with O'Hare only adding to what is an intriguing attacking department.

As such, the playmaker will be hoping that now is the time for him to eventually earn a first shot at the Premier League, having come close with the Sky Blues and Blades in his career thus far after Villa released him for £0 six years ago.

Callum O'Hare wasn't afforded Aston Villa opportunities despite initial Steve Bruce promise

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O'Hare came through the ranks at Bodymoor Heath during a testing time for Villa, who slid down the Premier League table before falling into the Championship for the first time in 28 years back in 2016.

Although the B6 club would invest heavily, and almost dangerously, during Tony Xia's ownership tenure, the midfielder was one of the most highly-rated youth prospects at the time, eventually earning his senior debut in an EFL Cup victory over Colchester United in August 2017, where Steve Bruce stated: “I’ve been very impressed with him and that wasn’t just his debut."

However, opportunities would be hard to come by after Bruce's initial promise months later, and the chance of staking such claims only grew harder after Villa's return to the Premier League under Dean Smith, and after an impressive initial loan with Coventry in League One during the club's 2019/20 season, O'Hare was released by his boyhood club.

Coventry City spell proved to be the making of Callum O'Hare

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O'Hare has, in recent times, split opinions about his personality, but that has clearly helped him respond to the aforementioned release from Villa, and his time at Coventry certainly proved to be the making of a high-level Championship performer under Mark Robins.

The 2020/21 season brought about the midfielder's first spell of regular minutes in the second tier, but a record of three goals and eight assists whilst featuring in every single league encounter was a sign of what would come down the line.

As such, he was named Coventry's 2020/21 Player of the Season, before going on to better his goal contribution tally by a further two in 2021/22.

Callum O'Hare hasn't been short of Premier League interest throughout his career

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Throughout this period of Coventry's eventual rise to the Premier League, O'Hare started to attract plenty of attention, along with Viktor Gyokeres - now of Arsenal - and Gustavo Hamer.

The playmaker did sign a contract extension until the end of 2023/24 - a season where he continued to impress after a serious injury layoff saw him unable to play a major role in City's 2022/23 play-off final campaign.

With it becoming apparent that O'Hare was unlikely to sign a new deal at the CBS Arena, the likes of West Ham United, Leeds United and Burnley were three clubs, in particular, who were linked with a move, but it came as a surprise when he eventually ended up signing for Sheffield United given their prior relegation that summer.

Wrexham will hope to give Sheffield United transfer regret with Callum O'Hare signing

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O'Hare's versatility will be a huge asset for Parkinson after a £7m agreement was reached between the two clubs, joining the likes of Josh Windass in Wrexham's creative department.

Just a matter of years ago, it would have seemed rather ridiculous to suggest that the Welsh side could lure one of the Blades' strongest-performing players, with O'Hare scoring and assisting eight goals last season whilst winning Player of the Year at Bramall Lane, but that gives a strong indication of the troubles currently associated with the S2 club.

It comes as no surprise that Chris Wilder was desperate to retain his services after already seeing Hamer reunite with Coventry earlier this window, but now O'Hare will be hoping it is third-time lucky in the promotion scene, having lost two play-off campaigns in the past three years.

Furthermore, whilst it remains to be seen if he would have played a key role in Villa's recent upward trajectory if he stayed, the Birmingham club may regret the fact they didn't make any form of profit on their academy graduate back in 2020.