Dave Edwards would love to end his playing days at Shrewsbury Town

Oddly enough, he plumped for a time before his career began. It involved a Town legend and a banged-up British soap icon.

Lee Steele and Deirdre Rachid – now Barlow – the unlikely duo.

Wolves star Edwards enjoyed the honour of playing alongside Steele, now 43, and a host of other blue and amber legends at the recent charity match in aid of The Harry Johnson Trust, Crossbar Foundation and The Little Rascals Foundation.

But in April 1998, the Welshman was one of just over 1,900 Town fans at Gay Meadow to witness a 3-0 Third Division win over Darlington.

The match itself, scoreline or goals aren’t the immediate memory for Edwards, who was 12 at the time.

Instead it was Liverpudlian Steele’s attire.

“It was one of his good seasons where he’d scored quite a few goals,” said Edwards, who played 132 times across four years for his hometown side.

“In Coronation Street at the time Deirdre was in prison and he wore a T-shirt under his kit saying ‘Free Deirdre’. I remember standing at the front of the Riverside when he took his shirt off to reveal the message.

“I reminded him of that!”

The afternoon at Shrewsbury Sports Village was littered with stars of the club’s past.

Edwards added: “I idolised a lot of those that were there. Apart from the likes of Toll (Jamie Tolley), Ben Davies and Gav Cowan, who I played with, players like Paul Evans and Lee Steele.

“Steve Biggins was before my time but he was my coach at under-17s, someone I really respected, there’s so many.

“There’s lots of fond memories. I played under Jimmy Quinn, he gave me my first real chance, Kevin Seabury coached me. There are so many I really look up to and I’m grateful they turned out.”

Edwards, 31, has completed a decade at Wolves and enjoyed a memorable 12 months – despite the Molineux club struggling in The Championship.

He was a part of the Wales team that captured the hearts of the public in last summer’s Euros and notched 10 goals in the 2016/17 campaign for Wolves. The midfielder acknowledged the ‘strange’ – as he labelled it – way in which he departed the club he supports in 2007 after being left out of the 2007 play-off final at Wembley by boss Gary Peters.

“When I left Shrewsbury it was in very strange circumstances,” added Pontesbury resident Edwards.

“I missed the play-off final for not signing my new contract and it was never a case that I wasn’t going to sign, I wanted to see if we’d get promoted and what other offers I had.

“But I don’t think anyone would begrudge me trying to further my career. Then to come back with Wolves in League One getting such a nice reception, that was really nice and I love the place.”

Edwards received a rousing reception when he admitted to Town PA Ryan Jervis on the mic that he would ‘love’ to return to Shrewsbury in the future.

He said the conditions would have to be right, but in a perfect scenario he’d return to Shropshire.

“Of course, it’s the way I’d love to go out,” Edwards added.

“I’ve been so fortunate in my career to play for the team I support for five years.

“I was at Luton for six months, I’ve only lived away for that time, then went to Wolves and came back to Pontesbury.

“I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career. As long as I can keep playing for Wolves and being in the first team, affecting games, then I’ll always want to do that.

“But if the opportunity comes at the right time where I can still offer something to Shrewsbury and they’re in the position when they’d like to sign me then of course I’d love to go back one day.

“It’d be a fitting way for my career to go. But a lot needs to happen in terms of where I’m at with my game and where Shrewsbury are at. Hopefully, but we’ll see what happens.”