Wolves legend and ex-England defender Coady retires

Published8 hours ago

Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Conor Coady has retired from playing at the age of 33.

The former Wolves skipper, who won 10 England caps as a central defender, has been linked with a move into coaching at club level, having already taken up an opening with England Under-21s, external under Lee Carsley on 4 September.

Coady had also been helping out within his first club Liverpool's Under-21 set-up, prior to his deadline day departure from Wrexham.

It was at Liverpool where it all began for Coady as a promising midfielder in the academy at Kirkby, where his tall, angular build and highly promising form for the reserve team evoked obvious comparisons in some quarters to fellow Liverpudlian Steven Gerrard.

Coady had made just two first-team appearances when he moved on from Anfield, first on loan to Sheffield United in 2013, before signing for Huddersfield Town at the end of that season.

But he enjoyed most of his success at Molineux after being converted into a central defender by then Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

He also played for Everton, Leicester City, Wrexham and then on loan at Charlton Athletic last season in his 503-game eight-club career.

Coady was first signed for Wolves by Kenny Jackett in 2015 - and played a major part in the club's promotion back to the Premier League in 2018.

He captained the Wolves team who twice finished seventh and also reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

In all, he made 317 Wolves appearances, scoring seven of his career tally - for club and country - of 22 goals, before being allowed to leave on loan for Everton in 2022.

He then joined Leicester for a reported £8.5m in July 2023 after Everton opted not to complete a £4.5m deal to turn his season-long loan into a permanent switch.

Coady then moved on for 13 months on the books at Wrexham, which was ended prematurely before his final loan move to The Valley, to join Nathan Jones' Charlton.

But he had not figured this season prior to his official exit from the Racecourse Ground.

Having worked regularly as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live to hint at a future media career, Coady has already been linked with the role of assistant head coach at League One side Barnsley.

Related topics

Football

Premier League

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship

League One

Huddersfield Town

Charlton Athletic

Wrexham

Leicester City

Sheffield United

Everton

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• Published26 July 2022

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Published26 July 2022