Andre Green has revealed how his move to Sheffield Wednesday was six months in the making.
The 22-year-old winger signed with the Championship strugglers last week, agreeing an 18-month contract having been a free agent since the end of last season.
Green departed Aston Villa, where he had spent the entirety of his youth career and made 48 first-team appearances, last summer but failed to find a new club.
However, the former England Under-20 international has now spoken about how he had been talks about a move to Hillsborough since as far back as July.
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Back then Green was still on loan at Charlton Athletic, a third temporary spell away from Villa Park in his career following short-term moves to Portsmouth and Preston North End.
His contract with the Premier League club had been extended to cover the rest of the season but he already knew he would need to find a new home.
That was when the Owls, then managed by Garry Monk, first came into the picture, with the help of head of recruitment Dave Downes, who was employed himself by Villa until 2019.
Green told The72: “We did have a few offers from elsewhere, but Sheffield Wednesday was in the pipeline from back in the summer.
“I always knew about it from before the season started. I had other offers but I thought this was the best place for me.
“I spoke to my agent when it was happening in the summer. It was Dave Downes (who got in touch), who was at Villa to be fair, they knew I was a free agent.
“Garry Monk was the manager and I had talks with him, and that’s when I was at Charlton, July-time, just before the end of the season.
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“From that moment I knew that Sheffield Wednesday would be a great place for me to develop. It’s a really good place to be, it’s got everything you need as a footballer, facility-wise, and it was the best step for me.
“Since summer, the managers have changed obviously, but in the back of my mind I knew that Sheffield Wednesday would be the right club for me.”
Green added that “different things” happened that meant the move didn’t happen in the summer, as clubs adjusted to the financial reality of Covid-19.
However, a move remained a possibility through the autumn while Monk was sacked, with Tony Pulis taking charge and lasting only 45 days himself, in the run-up to January.
“Just coming out the back of the lockdown, the season was a bit weird, no fans, and everything changed,” he explained.
“The manager got sacked and we didn’t know what was happening in the future then, who was coming in. Tony Pulis came in, (and) until January was like crunch time for me.
“I wanted to get back into football, I was ready. Sheffield Wednesday were still there and showed the commitment and fight that they were still attempting to bring me in.
“It goes beyond the manager for me, it was more the relationship I had, I felt wanted by the club. That’s what persuaded me.”
Neil Thompson is currently in caretaker charge as Wednesday search for their third permanent manager of the season.
Green said that he is fit and ready to make his debut with his first opportunity coming this Sunday, when the Owls are due to travel to Premier League side Everton in the fourth round of the FA Cup, after seeing two Championship fixtures postponed due to Covid-19 cases in their camp.
