In his past five years at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Conor Coady has been perfect.
Not perfect in terms of performance. After all, no footballer is. But in terms of being a leader, in setting an example, in fronting up on all manner of subjects and being a reference point for an entire football club, he has been faultless since first being named captain in the summer of 2017.
Back then, his future was anything but certain. In two years at Wolves he had struggled to nail down a place in his preferred central midfield role, ultimately seeing more action at right-back while the then-Championship side found itself in a state of flux, amid managerial changes and the arrival of new owners in Fosun International. Then Nuno Espírito Santo arrived.
Had Nuno decided to let Coady depart when he walked through the entrance door at Molineux, truthfully, it wouldn’t have been a surprise. Both his and Ruben Neves’ widely-heralded - and, at the time, rather unbelievable - arrival hinted at what was to come for a club now looking upwards.
From the outside, Coady’s future was far from secure and few supporters would have had any quibbles had he departed. The new coaching team weren’t enamoured with his ability to play in his favoured position either. Having watched tapes of the previous year’s games, they didn’t think he positioned his body well enough to receive and play forwards, or that he moved his feet quickly enough when in possession. They felt he would commit errors when under pressure that would leave the backline exposed.
But they liked his passing range and they marvelled at his ability to organise those around him with his incessant chatter. He would demand teammates gave their all while trying to set the standards himself. They felt his leadership qualities had been undervalued and believed his character was a huge plus - they just needed to get him into the team.
The answer: Making the constantly talking Scouser the defensive lynchpin of a new-look side at the heart of a back three.
On the pre-season tour of Austria, Coady put in the work with the new coaching team to make the position his own. Playing deep, he was unlikely to come under the kind of pressure he would see in midfield.
His ability to fire 40-50 yard balls out to either flank would become an attacking weapon, while his vocality would ensure defensive solidity. They drilled into him where he needed to be at all times, what he could and couldn’t allow to happen in front of him. He would be able to see everything, and would be adjust those around him if someone wasn't where they needed to be.
They felt it was a perfect fit for a player who, up to that point, had shown little to suggest a career any higher than the Championship. He was ultimately handed the captain’s armband, became Nuno's chief on-field lieutenant and never looked back.
Fast forward to now, and Coady, 29, is an England international with 10 caps to his name and a World Cup on the horizon. In the last four seasons he has shone for a Wolves side who have enjoyed three top 10 finishes, missing only one league game - due to Covid - in that time, and captained Wanderers on a run to a Europa League quarter-final.
Under a new boss in Bruno Lage he was again an ever-present last season. Ultimately Lage led Wolves to 10th, but he was never truly happy in how his side did it. He had arrived wanting to make the team more expansive, to press higher, to take more risks, to score more goals after the 2020-21 season under Nuno had seen a 13th place finish and football that was little more than dour, scoring only 36 goals.
Instead, Lage was pragmatic. He retained the 3-4-3/3-5-2 formations favoured by his predecessor. He wanted to move to a back four, but after one pre-season game decided he didn’t have the centre-backs necessary to do it.
Twelve months on, that has changed and Lage is determined to do things his way. Having seen his side score only 38 times in 38 league games last term, he has the backing of fans to try to make his mark by making the team more attacking and less reactive. Lage’s solution is to finally move to 4-3-3, ask his centre-backs to defend with less security and play with a higher defensive line.
Max Kilman’s maturation has seen him become Lage’s first-choice centre-back, with the 25-year-old former futsal star now on Gareth Southgate’s England radar too. His centre-back partner at Leeds this weekend will be £20million new boy Nathan Collins, the Republic of Ireland international snapped up from Burnley last month. All in, that means there is no place for Coady.
The ex-Liverpool youngster remains an integral part of the squad and someone the club don’t want to lose. He’s still the leader, the setter of standards, a key conduit between management and the playing staff. "He's still my captain," insists Lage.
But there’s an understanding that, for the 29-year-old, the timing of his demotion from undisputed first pick to back-up couldn’t be worse. Having played in 151 of Wolves’ 152 matches since promotion, he now finds himself on the outside looking in, with a World Cup around the corner.
He’s been part of Southgate’s squads in the past two years and went to Euro 2020, but with the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Ben White ensuring growing competition for places, he’s far from a guarantee for Qatar in November - especially if he’s not playing at club level.
Can he adapt and survive Wolves’ attempted evolution? The jury is out.
The feeling is he struggles against elite Premier League strikers when pulled into channels and in one-vs-one duels. Playing in a pair rather than a threesome, there’ll be much more of that and Coady, an astute reader of the game but not blessed with great speed or aerial power, would be much less protected.
There is also a difference in where Coady prefers to be as part of a defensive line and how high Lage - who has worked relentlessly to drill his players in the ways of a back four this summer - wants his centre-backs to push up. It’s not something that, with work, cannot be overcome, but there’s a discomfort there at present.
Then there is the question of what if Wolves go to Leeds and are well beaten? What if they fall flat on their face in their Molineux opener against Fulham the following week? Does Lage bin his transformation, returning to the tried and trusted, bringing back Coady and three centre-backs?
On Friday, Lage was coy over a potential exit, but refused to rule it out.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “What I know is I will respect him as always. I need to understand what is best for him.
“It’s not just about the World Cup, the players always want to play. Coady, and all the players since the first day, are focused and trying to improve to play in the line of four.
“He is one of the best people I know in football. I had a great season with him, and I think he had a great season with me. He is a guy that you will keep in your friendship group because he is a lovely guy - he is my captain, he is still my captain.
“Since Wolves arrived in the Premier League do you know how many games they played? 152. You know how many games Coady played? 151. With me he played all the games.
“Massive respect from me to Coady and massive respect from the club to Coady. Now I have more solutions and I will choose the best for my team, but I cannot forget Coady and I cannot forget any player.”
Coady has embodied Wolves’ rise from going-nowhere-fast in the Championship to upwardly-mobile in the Premier League more than anyone else. Lage would like to keep him but is aware of the situation at play.
Coady too has earned the right to have his say on his future. Should he want to leave, chairman Jeff Shi and technical director Scott Sellars will help find a deal that works for all parties. A £20million figure has been mooted, but it could even be less.
Given his character and leadership ability there will be suitors. Everton's interest - former Wolves sporting director Kevin Thelwell now holds a senior role at Goodison Park - has already been publicised. Newcastle are understood to have been keeping a watching brief on his situation, while newly promoted Bournemouth need additions at centre-back and Coady’s nous would be ideal for a young side, if he could be persuaded to move to the south coast and a side facing a relegation fight.
Coady, his head coach and club chiefs have five league outings between now and the close of the transfer window to fully evaluate the situation. It may not get that far. A decision doesn’t need to be made immediately but clarity will be required soon, both for his sake and Lage’s hopes of moving forwards into a new era.
At Elland Road on Saturday Coady’s purgatory will begin. The question is: How long will it last? And when it ends, will he still be wearing old gold?
