£9m defender says he could’ve signed for Leeds, but Brendan Rodgers told him not to

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Leeds United have had their fair share of transfer near misses in recent years.

We all know the story of Dan James almost signing in 2019, while missing out on Harvey Barnes led to Victor Orta smashing his mobile phone.

Leeds have missed out on a few very good players over the years, and now, speaking on the More Than a Game Podcast, Conor Coady has shared how he almost signed for Leeds.

The centre-back left Liverpool back in 2015, and according to Coady himself, his two options were Leeds or Huddersfield Town.

Coady says that he could’ve joined Leeds, but Brendan Rodgers advised him to join Huddersfield instead due to Leeds’ issues around that time.

Coady could’ve joined Leeds

The £9m defender spoke about almost joining Leeds.

“The day before we were coming home Brendan pulled me for a chat and he said we have a couple of options for you – Leeds and Huddersfield. He gave me some advice at the time about going to Huddersfield, Leeds were going through a tough time at the time, all different things, so the next day he said I could go to Huddersfield and he sorted that for me,” Coady said.

What could’ve been

We can’t help but wonder what could’ve been if Coady had ended up at Leeds at that point in time.

Let’s not forget, Leeds narrowly missed out on the playoffs in that 2016/17 season under Garry Monk, and perhaps if Coady had been in that squad as a future England international and fantastic leader, the Whites could’ve got over the line.

Leeds’ failure that year cost Monk his job, but perhaps if Coady was there to help Leeds get over the line, Monk would’ve stayed on, and who knows? Perhaps they would’ve won the playoffs that year as it wasn’t exactly a vintage year with Huddersfield and Reading meeting in that final.

This is certainly an interesting Sliding Doors moment to ponder in Leeds’ recent history.