Sheffield United finally completed the signing of Scott Hogan on transfer deadline day.
Hogan arrived at Bramall Lane on loan from Aston Villa on the final day of the January window.
It ends a long pursuit from manager Chris Wilder, who has been keen on the striker for some time.
In fact the Blades almost signed Hogan back in the summer, but the move was blocked by then Villa boss Steve Bruce.
“Sheff United were very interested,” the 26-year-old was quoted by Birmingham Live back in October.
“I wasn’t allowed to leave. He (Bruce) was adamant that he didn’t want me to go, he said I had a future playing as a striker and I was assured we were going to change the way we were playing.
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“So it was disappointing for me two days later when he signed a striker (Tammy Abraham) and nothing changed at all.”
So why Hogan?
Wilder did not give up on signing the Republic of Ireland international, though. Other Championship clubs were interested, with the Sheffield Star reporting Bristol City were among them.
However, South Yorkshire remained Hogan’s first choice – and that understandably pleased Wilder.
“Scott had options but he made it clear that he wanted to join us and that goes a long way in my book,” the 51-year-old said.
“I’ve made no secret of my admiration for Scott and his abilities. We made enquiries about him in the last window and we’ve had to be patient.”
Hogan could go straight into the squad for tomorrow’s league match with Bolton Wanderers. The Irishman has played just seven times this season and started just once.
Hogan’s time at Villa Park has been difficult after joining for a fee rising to £12m (BBC) back in January 2017.
Since then he has scored 10 goals in 61 games. Prior to that Hogan had been prolific for Brentford, however. He netted 21 times in 27 Championship matches.