Jamie Redknapp heaped praise on Wolves defender Conor Coady for his display against Fulham on Boxing Day and described him as having a heart of a lion.
The Sky Sports pundit highlighted the Wolves centre-back for being able to get back to clear Aleksander Mitrovic’s shot off the line, as it looked destined to roll into the back of the net, and even compared him to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher in the process.
Redknapp appeared to be blown away by the fact Coady denied Mitrovic scoring to see the game not end 2-1 rather than 1-1 like it did, as he say the odds were against the player getting back to clear the ball.
“I’m gonna actually say this is a Scouser’s defence, let’s just watch, because it’s got that heart of a lion Conor Coady as can he get that…yes brilliant piece of play and that’s what you’re looking for from your defender, he’s fantastic as you see there it looks like it’s odds against to make that,” said Redknapp on Sky Sports’ Premier League (Wednesday, December 26th, 14:36pm).
“It’s so brave I don’t think the other defenders like Bony would have got that, that’s brilliant defending, Jamie Carragher used to do that all the time, the heart of a lion.”
OPINION
The 25-year-old had a terrible outing by all accounts against Fulham as Mitrovic out-muscled the defender and seem to enjoy playing against him. So it’s odd that Redknapp is full of praise for Coady after witnessing the 1-1 draw. While the Sky Sports pundit focuses on the defender running back to clear Mitrovic’s goal-bound shot, it was his lack of strength that actually gifted the Serbian forward the opportunity to have a clear effort on goal. Coady has been a fantastic presence for Wolves more often than not this season but Redknapp was probably wrong to drape him in so much praise after his display against Fulham. There’s no denying that the 25-year-old does have the heart of a lion as he does seem to play with a lot of passion, but maybe the pundit should have waited for the defender to submit a good performance before sharing that he admires the player. However even though it was odd timing, Coady is no doubt flattered to be compared to a Reds legend like Carragher due to his known Liverpool connection.