Whilst Chris Wilder should be rightly praised for the large array of stars he’s worked with at Sheffield United such as Billy Sharp, John Egan and Jack O’Connell, the much-celebrated Blades boss has also fallen victim to signing some real duds whilst occupying the Bramall Lane hot-seat.
Indeed, notable pick-ups such as Rhian Brewster haven’t exactly gone to plan under his wing, with the one-time £23.5m buy only bagging seven strikes from 107 games in South Yorkshire.
At least Brewster has shown spurts of his quality, however, with two of those goals coming this season.
But, with this other disastrous signing, he never managed to raise his head high concerning his underwhelming displays.
Oliver Burke: Wilder's worst signing at Sheffield United?
Coincidentally, the cursed purchase of Oliver Burke also happened around the same time Brewster arrived through the door from Liverpool, with the Blades going on to taste relegation down to the Championship off the back of their poor recruitment.
Burke joined Wilder’s ranks for £5.8m in September of 2020, with the Scotsman once a £15m purchase by ex-club West Bromwich Albion when the Baggies picked up Burke fresh off his promising exploits at boyhood club Nottingham Forest.
But, that £15m on the end of the West Midlands side would end up being a rash splurge of cash, with Burke only managing to pick up one goal from 24 appearances at the Hawthorns, a worrying trend that would continue on at his next club.
To further pile on the misery, the now 27-year-old’s blunt time at Bramall Lane would culminate in a relegation appearing on his career CV, with the goal-shy attacker picking up just two strikes and one assist from 36 forgettable clashes.
In the end, Burke would leave his ill-fitting surroundings on a free transfer, with the £5.8m move simply going down as a big misfire.
The promotion chasers will just be keeping everything crossed that history isn’t repeating itself at the moment.
Wilder's next Burke at Sheffield United
Wilder would have been aware this January that splashing the cash recklessly could work against his side, with seven new additions entering the building to help with United’s promotion efforts.
Whilst Tom Cannon was fresh off an 11-goal loan stint with Stoke City, coughing up £10m for the hot ticket attacker to join his ever-growing camp might well have raised some eyebrows, considering four of those strikes came in just one game.
But, with his blistering record at youth level also seeing him post 51 goals for former employers Everton, the risk of spending £10m on the Irishman was deemed one worth pursuing.
This is where the similarities to Burke’s unfortunate tale do begin to pop up, considering the now Werder Bremen forward was another face that had so much hype attached to his name when lighting up youth pitches, with the tag of being the ‘Scottish Gareth Bale’ even coming his way.
Games played
7
Games started
4
Goals scored
0
Assists
1
Transfermarkt value
£5m
Looking at the table above, it’s been far from a smooth start to life in South Yorkshire for Cannon, with the lethal centre-forward play typical of his Potters stint now nowhere to be seen.
The 22-year-old has unfortunately drawn regular blanks instead, with Wilder using him sparingly across his promotion-chasing side’s last three league encounters, opting instead to utilise free transfer Tyrese Campbell as his lone marksman.
Labelled as “outstanding” in the past by ex-Hull City boss Liam Rosenior, Cannon is far from being written off yet in his new surroundings.
But, if he continues to be wasteful up top for the Blades after costing such a significant amount of cash to bring in, he could be hurtling down the same rocky road as Burke.
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