Over the decades at Bramall Lane a host of Sheffield United players have made themselves cult heroes and fan favourites by showing many of the characteristics that define the football club. But at the same time there have been some plying their trades elsewhere who just have that United ‘feel’ about them.
So, for a bit of international break fun, we put the appeal out to Blades fans to choose the most ‘Sheffield United’ players to have never pulled on the famous red and white stripes - and some of the illuminating responses highlighted exactly what Unitedites want to see from their players. From World Cup winners to former Leeds men and even a current Wednesday man, here are some of the suggestions...
17. Jason Koumas
The Welsh wizard was full of tricks back in the day but never quite fulfilled his obvious potential - which is perhaps why James Ruff and Haydn Wilshaw both picked him out as an ideal Blade | Getty Images
18. Robert Snodgrass
Now retired but the Scottish international was always a lively customer, playing for Leeds and later scoring against United for West Ham – only for the strike to be ruled out by VAR. Liam Simcox, for one, would have liked to see him pull on a Blades shirt | AFP via Getty Images
19. Michael Essien
Not a chance of the former Chelsea man ever being a Blade, as fan Matt Grayson admits – “Like me wandering round a Porsche showroom…” he said – but Essien “just epitomised what I would want out of a Blade.” | Getty Images
20. Diego Maradona
A story that has gone down in folklore as one of the biggest ‘what-if?’ stories in United’s history, with the then-unknown Argentine close to signing for the Blades – at least until his country’s military allegedly got involved… | Hulton Archive