This would’ve been an awkward fit.
James McClean’s political views are well-known, and he’s fully entitled to hold them, but they certainly wouldn’t have gone down well with some of the less tolerant elements of the Chelsea fan base.
The Derry winger is regularly booed at opposition grounds in England due to his refusal to wear the Remembrance Day poppy, with Stamford Bridge one of the more hostile grounds towards McClean.
However, McClean could’ve been lining out in the blue of Chelsea.
Niall Quinn, who was on the board at Sunderland when McClean joined the club from Derry City in 2011, has revealed that the London club had scouted him before his moved to the Northeast.
“The leaps of faith in James started with Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson, a goalscoring hero of the North East who hit his mid-60s a few years ago,” the former Republic of Ireland striker writes in his column for our friends at JOE.ie.
“Pop left his scouting job at Chelsea, wanting to get back up to his family and his roots in Hexham. Steve Bruce and I gave him the job as chief scout. Pop came in on the first day and said, ‘Listen, there is a bargain out there that we were recommended to come and watch when I was at Chelsea. A lad called James McClean at Derry City’.
“Given the structure at Chelsea and James’s age (McClean was 22 at the time), Chelsea had decided not to pursue the transfer.
“There were a few other clubs looking at James that summer, including Everton. Steve Bruce and I had never heard of James McClean, let alone seen him play, but it was Pop Robson’s first day on the job, he was enthusiastic and it didn’t seem like the time to knock Pop back.
The deal for McClean was completed and the 22-year-old would break into the first-team at Sunderland later in the season, but first Quinn would have to convince Sunderland’s American owner to fork out the £350,000 for the player.
“I agreed to approach Sunderland’s owner Ellis Short to get permission to make the signing. Ellis asked a number of pertinent questions, starting with ‘How many times have you seen him play, Niall?’
“I answered truthfully. Zero times.
“‘What else did I know?’ Well, from what I knew of the League of Ireland and the list of players on our radar at the time, James McClean wasn’t near to being on the list but… Between the jigs and the reels Ellis agreed and we spoke to Derry.
“James was playing under the management of Stephen Kenny at Derry and as so many players do under Stephen’s guidance, he had made quick progress.”
McClean played 70 times for the Black Cats before joining Wigan Athletic in 2013 and moving to West Brom last summer.
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