Sheffield United stuck gold with Coventry City transfer | OneFootball

John Fleck was once labelled the Scottish Wayne Rooney at Rangers

FLW takes a look at how Sheffield United struck gold with one of Chris Wilder’s first ever signings as manager.

The player in question is Scottish midfielder John Fleck, who Wilder signed on a free transfer during his first summer at Bramall Lane ahead of the 16/17 campaign.

The Scotsman had spent four seasons with fellow League One club Coventry City after leaving Rangers in the summer of 2012, making 182 league appearances for the Sky Blues and scoring eight league goals in the process.

Considering the fact that Coventry ended up getting relegated that season, whereas Blades won the league - Fleck's success in South Yorkshire didn't stop there.

John Fleck was once labelled the 'Scottish Wayne Rooney'

What you might not know is that Fleck was viewed as an attacking wonderkid very early on in his career at Rangers - after making his debut for the Glasgow giants at 16-years-old.

This led to people comparing him to Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. On this, Fleck told Sky Sports in 2010, "I'm still a young boy and I think people expected me just to come out and be like Wayne Rooney every week but that's not going to happen.

Adding, "He's a world-class player and it takes time for a young boy to come through. I'm willing to be patient but hopefully I'll get my chance."

When Rangers got liquidated in 2012, Fleck moved to Coventry. He came with a lot of expectation, which didn't show at first - as it was only when Steven Pressley moved him into a deeper central midfield role that Fleck truly began to impose himself on games.

By the time Sheffield United came calling, he was arguably the best central midfielder at that level - as he swept up at Coventry's 15/16 end of season awards, winning players' player and supporters' player of the year.

Chris Wilder revealed the secret behind John Fleck's success at Sheffield United

In that debut season in South Yorkshire, Fleck contributed to 20 assists in all competitions as Blades took the League One title.

Fleck then adapted very well to Championship football, making 41 league appearances in 17/18 and 45 in 18/19 as Wilder's side earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 12 years.

When the midfielder was called up to the Scotland squad in 2019, Wilder said, "He thoroughly deserves it as he’s been incredible.

"We brought him in on a free transfer from Coventry when we were in League One and he’s embraced every level since and moved forward."

By this stage, Fleck's reputation had grown to the point where West Ham United tabled a £4m offer for him in the January 2020 transfer window, as per The Athletic, only for the bid to be rejected outright.

What made Fleck so valuable under Wilder wasn’t just his quality on the ball, it was the way the manager brought out the attacking side of his game that had been largely hidden during the majority of his spell at Coventry.

In the same month as the aforementioned West Ham bid, Wilder revealed the secret to Fleck's success, telling The Star, "He started out as a centre-forward. Technically he's really good. That was John's position to begin with, I believe. That's why he knows what he's doing and has got the ability."

Rather than asking Fleck to do the defensive heavy lifting in a midfield two, Wilder gave him the licence to get forward and arrive late into dangerous positions.

By the time the now 34-year-old quietly departed for Blackburn Rovers in February 2024, he had made 278 appearances in all competitions for the club, netting 16 goals and 48 assists.

For a free signing to achieve three promotions with the same club, let alone all the other factors, it's fair to say that United struck huge transfer gold with Fleck.

After narrowly missing out on promotion to League One with Chesterfield - losing against Notts County in the play-off final - he is now a free agent.