The personal heartbreak fuelling Sheffield United man's Premier League dream ahead of Stoke City reunion

Tyrese Campbell, the Sheffield United striker, has opened up on the personal heartbreak that is fuelling his desire to earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time in his career this season. The former Stoke City man has impressed since joining the Blades in the summer, and returns to his former club for the first time later this week.

The 25-year-old’s time at Stoke since relegation was spent in mid-table obscurity before he joined promotion-chasing United on a free transfer, the move delayed a little by a difficult summer which saw the death of his father Kevin.

Campbell went on to reach double figures for the first time in his career this season, with Friday’s trip to Stoke the first of two remaining for United in the regular season before their play-off campaign begins. He has made no secret of the fact that the pressure of a promotion bid has brought the best out of him, with his fitness record also vastly improving at Bramall Lane.

And if any extra motivation was needed to reach the top flight again, after a handful of appearances there as a youngster in Staffordshire, there isn’t much more powerful than the prospect of making his dad proud. “I had a day away from football when my dad passed, and it was back to work,” Campbell said.

“I didn’t have a club at the time and was training with a personal trainer and a few other lads. As sad as it was, life does go on and he’d have liked me to do that. He wanted me to go on, work hard and play football and be the player he knows I can be. For me football helped me take my mind off stuff and softened the blow. I had a great support network around me and I have to give them a lot of credit.”

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United had to be patient with Campbell as he got up to speed after missing out on pre-season with the Blades but that paid off, the striker establishing himself as United’s first-choice for the majority of the season and scoring a memorable Steel City derby winner over Wednesday back in November.

Campbell Sr. was best remembered for his goalscoring spells with Arsenal and Everton in the top-flight but sadly passed away in June last year, aged just 54. An inquest earlier this month concluded that he died of natural causes after becoming seriously ill with heart and kidney failure, losing more than half of his body weight before his death.

Tyrese Campbell’s Sheffield United ambition after dad Kevin’s tragic passing

“When times were tough in football, he was normally the first person I’d speak to,” Campbell Jr. added in an interview with The Sun. “He’d give me the harsh truth and tell me if he thought I was good enough. He’d tell me how it was. Sometimes I didn’t like what he was saying but then you’d think: ‘Oh actually, he was probably right.’ So the two things I miss most is his advice and him.”

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United were condemned to the play-offs after Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Burnley, which guaranteed that the Clarets and Leeds United will play Premier League footall next season. Speaking before that game, Campbell said: “We cannot be too disheartened. We’ve had a great season and everything is still to play for.

“As a kid I wanted the Premier League, watched my dad play at that level and I’ve come off the bench four times for Stoke seven years ago before they got relegated. It’s always been my goal to be an established Premier League player. I want to get there with Sheffield United. And I will see my dad again one day — I just want to make him proud of me.”