How close Sheffield Wednesday really came to signing Eric Cantona, he was left shocked

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Eric Cantona is one of football’s greatest players, and Sheffield Wednesday let him slip away right under their noses.

Before making his name at Leeds United and Manchester United, the Frenchman was close to joining the Owls.

It’s hard to imagine where Wednesday would’ve ended up if the forward had chosen to move to Hillsborough instead of Elland Road, but even Cantona was left shocked by the fact he never played in S6.

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Eric Cantona didn’t realise Sheffield Wednesday transfer was actually a trial

During a feature on TNT Sports in 2023, Cantona hinted that he would’ve almost certainly become an Owls player had it not been for a misunderstanding.

Instead of signing on the dotted line from Nimes, it was only a trial.

“I didn’t know it was a trial,” Cantona admitted. “I thought I was there to sign, and after a week they said I had to spend one more week on trial.

“At that time I was one of the good French players playing for the national team… And I was on trial with Sheffield Wednesday!”

In the end he went to Leeds that summer, who ended up winning the league in the final season before it became the Premier League, finishing seven points clear of Wednesday, who finished third in the First Division.

Eric Cantona once scored a hat trick for Sheffield Wednesday in friendly match

Even though the football legend’s trial didn’t come to fruition in January 1992, Cantona did play in one game for Wednesday and left a lasting impact.

Trevor Francis detailed the event in his autobiography ‘One in a Million’ in which the Frenchman played in an indoor friendly against an American side.

Cantona scored a hat trick that day as Wednesday won the friendly 4-3. Maybe it’s a sign of what could’ve happened had he made the move.