Ex-Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday prospect reveals rejecting Sunderland for Newcastle United

Former Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United prospect Karl Colley has revealed details of interest from Sunderland before moving to Newcastle United in 2002 - and has opened up on his gambling problem.

The former defender spent time at both Steel City clubs before making the switch to Newcastle United in the early 2000s. Colley’s career, though, failed to take off at the top level with the player enjoying spells at non-league clubs before retirement at the end of the 2017-18 season.

“The option was there to sign another year at Wednesday,” Colley told the Undr The Cosh Podcast, which is hosted by former Black Cats striker Chris Brown. “I had Newcastle, Sunderland, Celtic and Fulham interested. 

“Like I said, Newcastle are always my second team, so straight away as soon as Newcastle are interested, them other three were never in the picture for me to sign for, they were just all purely Newcastle.”

Colley - who would go on to be nicknamed the “The Non-League Cantona” after an altercation with a fan back in 2014 - found life on Tyneside difficult and opened up about his gambling problems during the podcast appearance.

“When I was training and I was at the ground and with the players, I had my professional head on. I felt like a professional footballer. I used to dread leaving training. I just wanted it to last forever because I felt like I was part of something, I felt safe there. And, as soon as it did, I used to walk past St James' Park, and I was just like, what do I do now? There were Ladbrokes down the road, and I used to go and just sit in there.

“My dad was a gambler, and my dad's family were gamblers. So I used to watch horse racing when I was a kid. I was always intrigued with gambling because my dad used to leave me outside the bookies for I don't know how long. When I used to leave training, the only place where I felt safe, I felt like the only thing that reminded me of home was the bookmakers.

“So when I'm sitting at bookmakers for hours on end, I'm obviously gambling more money, and it's getting worse, but that's like kind of my safe place. You know, it's because I've got nothing else to do. Nobody's offering me, do you want to go for a game of golf, do you want to get a game of snooker or anything like that. It was more to take me out of reality.

“I've always said that, when I'm betting, and I'm in that element of betting, nothing else matters. Whatever's going off outside that bookmakers, it don't bother me, because I'm fixated on what's happening here. I'm fixated on the gambling, I'm in the element and then that's when you know you've got a problem.”