The night David Brooks tore Leeds United apart in Sheffield United victory, four years ago today

The promise was already there, of course, magnified by a remarkable display to tear apart Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough a month earlier. But it was the evening of October 27 2017, with a late, composed finish to seal a 2-1 victory for the Blades at the home of Leeds United, when Brooks’ upward trajectory was really confirmed.

It was a rise that United, in the end, couldn’t match, and he made it to the Premier League a year before they did after a club-record sale to Bournemouth. Bad luck with injuries stunted his progress on the south coast before the most damning news of all arrived recently, that the young man had been diagnosed with cancer and would soon begin treatment.

United fans showed their support for their former forward with an emotional rendition of ‘Brooks will tear you apart again’ a few days after the news broke – in the 36th minute, to commemorate his squad number while he was at United – and that was the chant that could be heard emanating into the Leeds night as those same fans toasted Brooks’ 81st-minute winner at Elland Road.

Brooks had only been on the pitch a few minutes, replacing Billy Sharp, when he drifted into space down the left channel and raced onto Mark Duffy’s pin-point pass to finish past Andy Lonergan – and seal his place in Blades folklore.

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