2020 sale is now outscoring every Sheffield United player

If Sheffield United are to return to the Premier League come the close of the intense 2024/25 campaign, Chris Wilder’s men will hope they can build on this promotion and remain in the top flight for more than one fleeting season.

Both times the Blades have recently won promotion, a relegation has soon had to be swallowed thereafter, minus the unbelievable 2019/20 season which saw Wilder lead his beloved side to a crazy ninth spot in the elite division.

Falling back to the Championship would then greet the South Yorkshire outfit after this one-off achievement, however, with the signing of Oliver Burke before the following campaign going down as a major flop.

Oliver Burke’s disastrous Bramall Lane stint

Supporters at Bramall Lane would have been surprised that Wilder was willing to give the Scotsman a chance, considering he was fresh off a one-goal stint at West Bromwich Albion, having cost the Baggies a whopping £15m to obtain back in 2017.

Yet, the 57-year-old must have thought he could unearth a diamond in the rough in Burke when he arrived in the summer of 2020, only to be bitterly disappointed with what then transpired.

Whilst the Scotsman’s stint in South Yorkshire would see him collect one more strike than his nightmare time at the Hawthorns, it’s fair to say nobody associated with United was particularly enthused by his forgettable one-season stay when it came to a halt, with a relegation now on his varied CV courtesy of his brief connection to the club.

The strange deal to bring Burke to the Blades will sting even more now when you consider who West Brom won as part of the bewildering exchange, with the ex-United attacker now staggeringly outscoring every single player at Wilder’s disposal in the here and now.

The “quality” star now outscoring every United player

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the attacker now enjoying a resurgence in form since leaving Bramall Lane behind, with the Baggies also offloading the the 30-year-old forward two years into his stay in the West Midlands.

But, Callum Robinson is definitely proof how of a star can age like a fine wine, with his best goalscoring form in some time coming when donning a Cardiff City strip.

Robinson’s G/A record by season since leaving United
Season	Games played	Goals scored	Assists
24/25	26	11	1
23/24	25	3	2
22/23	29	7	7
21/22	44	8	9
20/21	29	6	0
19/20	16	3	2
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Indeed, his career in Wales looked to be fizzling out last campaign with a lacklustre return of five goals and assists, but he now has a stunning 12 goal contributions across 2024/25.

Not even £10m buy Tom Cannon can boast better goalscoring numbers back at the Blades – who has nine strikes himself in league action – as Gustavo Hamer, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Tyrese Campbell also all fall behind in comparison with seven and six goals next to their names.

Even when he wasn’t been firing on all cylinders for the Bluebirds, there were enough flashes of his excellence that made the relegation-threatened side persevere – when his former employers handed him over after just two meagre goals for Wilder and Co – with ex-Cardiff manager Erol Bulut labelling the experienced EFL face as “quality” last season even during regular goal droughts.

With the Blades’ issues up top seeing the aforementioned Cannon already pull up with a knee concern, alongside Kieffer Moore being sidelined, having Robinson at their disposal now would be an effective option for Wilder to call upon.

But, that is with a heavy serving of hindsight on side, as the promotion challengers aim to go all out to clinch automatic promotion in the crunch months to come, whilst Robinson will try to continue enjoying his rebirth in the Welsh capital.