Billy Sharp future state of play amid Sheffield United return discussions, next target and transfer interest
Billy Sharp will take time to decide his next move after leaving Doncaster Rovers, with the possibility of a return to Sheffield United still on the table.
Sheffield United modern-day legend Billy Sharp is set to take his time to decide the next step in his footballing journey, as speculation about a Bramall Lane return continues to swirl. The 40-year-old is a free agent this summer after leaving Doncaster Rovers.
The striker signed off from his second club in fine style, scoring a final-day hat-trick at Peterborough United to take his career goals tally to 299. A fourth was ruled out for offside which would have got him to the magic 300 mark.
If it had stood, Sharp joked this week, then it may have made a decision about his future a little easier as he considers when to take the long-awaited step into a coaching role. There remains a distinct possibility that happens at United.
The Star has been told that conversations to that end took place earlier this season, with both Sharp and Rovers boss Grant McCann alluding to similar in recent interviews. But he remained at Rovers before confirmation he would leave this summer when his deal ran out.
There will undoubtedly be interest in the EFL’s record goalscorer this summer from across the football pyramid, with York City the latest to be linked after sensationally winning promotion back to the league on the final day of the National League season.
But the prospect of Sharp wearing the United badge on his chest again, at some point in the future, seems inevitable. Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield in midweek at a Weston Park Charity event, he admitted: “I've got eight weeks now to decide really what I want to do.
“I just wished the offside goal had counted and then I probably didn't have a decision to make! What a way to have gone out if I'd have got that. Listen, I went to bed dreaming about scoring four.”
Asked if his next step could combine a playing and coaching role, Sharp admitted: “I think last season there was maybe a sniff of that. But I wanted to be one of the lads in the changing room and I wanted to commit to being a player.
“I managed to score 14 goals this year, which I think for my age is pretty good. I know I can keep scoring goals. So people know where I am if they want me. I've got no decision to make at the minute. I've not got a club. So we'll see what happens.”