There was a period, shortly before his £6 million move to Parkhead, where the Celtic ace appeared to be on his way to Old Firm rivals Rangers instead.
At least, that was the story at the time.
How true it is, or how close he really came to ending up at Ibrox rather than Celtic Park, well former teammate Danny Wilson has his doubts. One thing that is certain, however, is that Rangers did show some semblance of interest in a certain Austin Trusty.
Wilson knows that for a fact. Because, with Rangers in the market for a left-sided central defender during the summer of 2023, former Ibrox stalwart Wilson recalls being asked to give his view on a player he knew well from their time together at Colorado Rapids in the MLS.
Premier League giants Arsenal took a chance on Trusty after watching the youngster rapidly outgrow the American game. An impressive loan spell at Birmingham City enhanced his reputation on this side of the Atlantic.
But, as then-head coach Mick Beale would hint not-so-subtly, Rangers were simply blown out of the water by Sheffield United when the time came for Trusty’s suitors to put their money where their mouth was.
Rangers ‘wanted’ Auston Trusty before he left Sheffield United for Celtic
Their finances boosted by promotion to the Premier League, Sheffield United would end up forking over £5 million; More than double the fee Rangers were rumoured to be offering.
“Before he went to Sheffield United, Rangers wanted him,” recalls Wilson, who enjoyed two spells at Ibrox before moving to America. “I spoke to him then, just trying to get him to come and to see if there was any truth in it.
“Somebody had asked me about him because, obviously, I had payed with him. I spoke to him as if to say; ‘Do you mind if I speak about you? I’ll tell people how good you are’.
“I thought he was going [to Rangers]. And then, when I found out he was going to Celtic, I didn’t speak to him!’,” the now-Livingston veteran adds with a laugh.
Trusty would spend only one season at Bramall Lane. One too many, probably.
He was an unwitting part of the Premier League’s worst-ever backline. Sheffield United would concede a staggering 104 goals en route to relegation, though Trusty emerged from the wreckage with his reputation largely unscathed.
So much so that, one year after Rangers looked into the four-time USA international, bitter rivals Celtic offered Sheffield United the chance to make a quick profit.
As far as Wilson knows, meanwhile, an alternative switch to Rangers 12 months earlier was maybe not quite as likely as some in the media believed.
Danny Wilson knew former MLS teammate Trusty was a real talent
“I don’t think there was ever anything [too close],” the one-time Liverpool prospect adds. “He’d just had that season where he had been at Birmingham. From his point of view, he wanted to test himself in the Premier League and, obviously, he got that move to Sheffield United.
“You knew as soon as we got him [at Colorado Rapids], he had all the raw attributes. Pace, power, size, left-foot… I was gutted when he turned up because he is everything that I’m not!
“You could tell he had everything.”
These days, Clinton Nsiala is threatening to make the left-sided centre-back spot his own at Ibrox. Rangers winger Ross McCausland likens Nsiala to a young Virgil van Dijk, while comparisons have also been drawn with Calvin Bassey.
Trusty, meanwhile, will be hoping to start as Celtic face Bayern Munich in the first-leg of their Champions League last-32 tie on Wednesday night.
