Richard Stearman backed to be 'main man' as Wolves' bid for Harry Maguire goes cold
Kenny Jackett today urged Richard Stearman to be his main man as Wolves' chase for Harry Maguire appears to have gone into cold storage.
Two Molineux bids have been rejected for Sheffield United centre-back Maguire and there has been no movement in the saga for several weeks.
Hull have been unwilling to progress the transfer after their £2m 'take-it-or-leave-it' approach stalled.
The chances of a deal being resurrected appear to rest on Maguire's mood after he returned to pre-season training with the Blades.
Should he give any indications that he is unhappy, United could be tempted to cash in, but they don't need to sell and so probably won't compromise on their asking price.
Stearman signed a new two-year deal last month, joining fellow long-serving team-mates Carl Ikeme and Dave Edwards in pledging his future to the club.
And Jackett is looking for the versatile stopper, who has captained the side on occasions, to step up and continue setting the right example to a largely youthful squad.
"He's been one of the ones able to make that transition through different regimes and at nearly 27 I'm looking for him now to be a really good senior pro," said Jackett.
"I think again, like Carl, he's coming into his best years.
"He has a lot of experience now and I'm looking for him to lead.
"You're only as good as your senior professionals and he is, and will be, a good senior professional for us who will lead the club and that's very important.
"I was delighted he re-signed and decided to stay."
Jackett suggested that Wolves don't need Maguire, with Danny Batth having played every League game last season and former Telford man Sam Ricketts and Ethan Ebanks-Landell able to play at centre-back.
"We're not short in that department," said the boss.
"Richard formed a very good partnership with Danny Batth and we also have Sam Ricketts who can play that position and Ethan Ebanks-Landell who's a really good player as well."
Jackett believes Stearman is actually a 'fresher' Wolves player now having been on loan at Ipswich in spring 2013 when he missed the toxic downward spiral to relegation.
"He moved out and maybe that helped him coming back and freshened him up," said the boss.
