Lys Mousset's sad career slide continues with contract blow as Sheffield United fans lament what could have been

Lys Mousset's sad career slide has continued after his latest club terminated his contract by mutual consent. The former Sheffield United forward, still only 27 years old, signed a two-year deal with German side Bochum in 2022, following his release by United, but never made an appearance.

Soon after signing for Bochum the Frenchman was put on an individual fitness plan before respected media outlet Bild reported that Bochum had suspended Mousset over a "lack of motivation, unpunctuality and unprofessionalism". At the time manager Patrick Fabian said of Mousset: "We kept giving him a chance, now there's no point. It's pretty disappointing because we naturally had a lot of hopes from him in terms of sport. At some point, however, the time has come when we have to protect the group as a whole."

Mousset was subsequently shipped out on loan to Ligue 2 strugglers Olympique Nîmes but scored only once as they were relegated to the third tier of French football and suffered an Achilles injury to prematurely end his season. Now Mousset is once again a free agent after Bochum confirmed that his contract there had been terminated by mutual agreement.

"The 27-year-old attacker moved to Castroper Straße in the summer of 2022, did not play in any competitive games and was loaned to Olympique Nîmes for six months in January 2023," a Bochum statement read. "The Frenchman has been in advanced training since he tore his Achilles tendon there shortly before the end of the season."

It is the latest low ebb in a career that promised so much. This week United's official Twitter account shared footage of Mousset's instinctive finish away at West Ham, the second of four goals in six games and a purple patch in which he looked every inch a Premier League striker. On his day Mousset was a headache for any defender - Phil Jones was never the same again after being dominated by Mousset in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Manchester United at Bramall Lane - but off-field indiscretions and a lack of fitness eventually saw patience run out at Bramall Lane.

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It was a sentiment echoed on social media by United fans. Nik Reeves-McLaren posted on Twitter: "[Mousset] could have been a great player. Easy to look from the outside and think badly of someone and why they haven’t made more of the opportunity, but not everyone can cut it."

Joe McKenzie said: "Best striker I’ve seen in a Blades shirt. We’ll never know if Iliman [Ndiaye] was capable of terrorising Prem defences like the Moose did. Could score too," while Paul Thomas added: "He was very talented, could have been a top player, always injured and unfit."