The popular centre back, who turned 30 earlier this month, is currently in his eighth season at St James Park, but things could have turned out quite differently for the Irishman.
After turning down a new contract, Sweeney declared that he will be departing City in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer.
It was stated on June 11th that he would be joining Swindon Town on July 1st, but he left the club the day after he arrived, citing personal reasons as salaries got unpaid due to financial difficulties.
The club captain came back to Exeter seven days later, and he hasn’t left since. He is an important member of Matt Taylor’s and currently Gary Caldwell’s teams.
Though that isn’t always the case, he is live proof that sometimes the grass isn’t greener.
The younger players look up to Sweens as a leader at the club and seek his opinion on various matters, including transfers and their own career routes.
In a recent interview, he disclosed that Ollie Watkins, Josh Key, and Jay Stansfield—three of the Grecian golden boys—had contacted him throughout the years to get his thoughts on possible moves.
This summer, Stansfield made a highly publicised move from Fulham to Birmingham City in a transaction that might be valued as much as £20 million, with the possibility of £4 million going to City through sell-ons.
After spending the previous season on loan at St Andrew’s, the forward became well-liked by Blues despite their relegation, finishing as their top scorer and dominating the Midlands club’s awards ceremony.
It was a significant choice for Stanno to move from a Premier League team to a League One team.
“I will never minimise a situation,” he stated. “I didn’t do that with Stanno; he clearly signed a seven-year rich contract there, so I don’t find it shocking that he chose to join Birmingham on that bandwagon.
They are obviously a fantastic football club in their own right, but what they are doing there is brilliant and they are getting good backing.
“I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago before he signed,” he continued. “I don’t know why he was looking for my advice – but I just said to him you either go with your heart or you go with your head and stay as a Premier League footballer for as long as you can.
“He’s obviously gone with his heart and he’s gone with the project at Birmingham and fair play to him, he’s cemented his future.”
Stansfield is clearly an emotional character and it’s no surprise given everything that’s happened to him throughout his young life, but he’s obviously got his head screwed on as well.
The 22-year-old England youth international will be in the first team for Fulham this season, according to manager Marco Silva, so dropping two tiers was a significant decision that required careful consideration.
It appears that Sweeney gave excellent advise, and Stanno has really followed his heart. He now plays somewhere he adores in front of an adoring fan base, signed to a lucrative contract that makes him a very wealthy man.
