Wolves star Conor Coady is Danny Higginbotham’s pick of the bunch in this week’s SunSport player factfile
Coady has started every game for the Championship leaders this season and will be sure to make a big impact in Premier League next season
CONOR COADY is a massive part of the success story at Wolverhampton this season.
Wolves are almost certain to gain promotion to the Premier League — they are 13 points clear of Aston Villa in third — and Coady has been vital to that charge.
And the 24-year-old has done it all in a new position.
Last season Coady played in midfield or right-back but, in pre-season, the new manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, tried him as a sweeper in a back three.
The Portuguese boss obviously liked what he saw because Coady has played there ever since.
He lines up with Willy Boly and Ryan Bennett alongside him and while they do most of the ball-winning and tackling, Coady reads the game superbly and mops up behind them.
FACTFILE
Born: St Helens, Merseyside
Age: 24
Height: 6ft 1in
Position: Centre-back
Shirt number: 16
Club career
Liverpool: 2012-2014
Sheffield United: 2013-2014 loan
Huddersfield: 2014-2015
Wolves: 2014-present
Stats this season
Games: 32
Starts: 32
Minutes played: 2,805
Goals: 0
Goals conceded: 24
Clean sheets: 16
Yellow cards: 3
Red cards: 1
Win rate: 66 per cent
He is brilliant on the ball. His distribution, short or long, is fantastic.
That is partly because he has grown up as a midfielder. But he uses it so well he always gets Wolves on the front foot.
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I played with him for a bit at Sheffield United when he was coming through and was struck by how bright he was for one so young.
He is an intelligent lad, a good organiser and great reader of the game. As a result, his positioning is top class.
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His leadership skills have seen him made captain recently in the absence of Danny Batth, who has been out of the team.
Coady started out at Liverpool but failed to crack the Premier League, making just one first-team appearance.
He was sent out on loan to Sheffield United before eventually being sold to Huddersfield, then in the Championship, in 2014.
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From there, Coady moved to Wolves for £2million in the summer of 2015 and has already notched up 100 appearances for the club.
And his Premier League dream now looks like coming true next season.