10 Players You Didn't Know Sunderland Almost Signed

5. Leighton Baines

Sunderland truly were the flavour of the month in the summer of 2007. With terrifying head honcho Roy Keane at the helm, football observers took notice as he had masterminded their triumphant Championship success. Having disgraced themselves in their last two Premier League outings, amassing a combined total of 34 points, they had been portrayed as a laughing stock. It takes a certain type of personality to wipe the smirks off punters' faces following that, and Roy Keane was exactly what the doctor ordered. As a result, an aura surrounded the Irish consortium-backed club, who were suddenly a far more attractive proposition. Leighton Baines was just one player who Roy Keane had pinpointed as a prime transfer target, tabling four bids for the Wigan Athletic left-back. With a final bid of £6 million having been accepted, the future England international found himself locked in talks with the North-East hierarchy, and an agreement was almost reached, before the deal was scuppered by Everton. Swooping in with a last-ditch bid, the Merseyside-born defender immediately ceased negotiations with promotion hopefuls and instead penned a long-term contract with his boyhood side. For the promising 22 year old prospect, however, it appears that his decision wasn't as straightforward as one might have assumed.

''They had worked so hard to get to that point, that it would not have been right if I had not gone up there and sat in front of him. He was very impressive and not what I expected him to be. He was very relaxed, very cool. I felt totally at ease with him and I came away thinking that, in different circumstances, I'd really love to play for him.'' - Leighton Baines, November 2007