Sheffield United hero Billy Sharp and wife Jade celebrate birth of their "perfect little girl" amid Bramall Lane return talk
The 40-year-old is reportedly on the lookout for a new club after leaving Doncaster Rovers at the end of last season
Former Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp is celebrating the birth of his baby daughter.
In a post on social media, the striker’s wife Jade shared a picture on her Instagram story with their two sons Leo and Milo both holding their new baby sister in their arms.
The caption reads: “Introducing our little Ayla Grace. Born with love and so much joy. Forever grateful for our perfect little girl.”
Jade reveals in the post that Ayla was born on Monday, June 8 at a weight of 6lbs 13oz.
Billy also shared a picture on the story of his private account where he’s holding his newborn daughter, with the caption ‘Incredible’ followed by a love heart eyes emoji.
Sharp, who came through the academy of Sheffield United, is a boyhood Blades supporter, who has enjoyed three separate spells with the Bramall Lane club.
He made his debut in 2004/05 during Neil Warnock’s time as manager. Sharp enjoyed a productive loan spell at Rushden & Diamonds early in his career before making a permanent move to Scunthorpe United where he scored an impressive 56 goals in 95 matches.
A return to Bramall Lane followed under Bryan Robson after the club’s relegation to the Championship in 2007 but he struggled for gametime over the course of two seasons before joining Doncaster Rovers, initially on loan, before becoming the club’s first ever £1m signing in 2010.
Sharp was Doncaster’s top scorer throughout his three seasons with the club. He joined Southampton in 2011 and had spells at Reading, Doncaster again and Leeds United before finally returning to S2 for his third and most recent spell.
The experienced striker bagged 116 goals in 311 matches for Sheffield United between 2016 and 2023 - winning three promotions in eight years - while establishing himself as the Championship’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Sharp currently finds himself without a club after leaving Doncaster for a third time at the end of last season. Overall, the 40-year-old scored 26 times in 96 matches for the Vikings - notably helping them to the League Two title in 2025.
The veteran, who has hinted at his desire to go into coaching at some stage in the future, has been linked with a return to Sheffield United in some capacity.
In a recent Q&A, our reporter Danny Hall said: “This question was posed before we broke the news on Thursday of Alan Knill’s departure and that only intensified the speculation that Sharp would make a dramatic return to Bramall Lane this summer.
“I have no doubt it will happen at some stage, especially as long as Chris Wilder remains in charge.
“But this summer? No. The feeling is that Sharp will continue playing next season as he chases that magic 300-goal record - although it would have been interesting to see what he would have done had he made it there on the final day of last season, instead of being stuck on 299 - before hanging up his boots.”