Sheffield United: Double deal involving Billy Sharp promised so much but didn't deliver | OneFootball

Sheffield United announced the signings of Billy Sharp and Conor Sammon in July 2015, but Sammon was unable to live up to the hype

On the 25th July 2015, Sheffield United completed the signings of two strikers and while one would go on to enjoy huge success at Bramall Lane, the other will be a bit of a forgotten man to supporters.

Of course, one of these strikers is Billy Sharp, who completed his Blades return from Leeds United and would spend the next eight years at Bramall Lane, helping the club win a number of promotions and securing his status as a club legend.

However, Conor Sammon also joined Sharp at the Blades on the 25th July 2015, completing a loan move from Derby County, and while it was a deal that promised so much, it's fair to say it didn't live up to expectations.

With two proven strikers dropping down from the Championship, it looked like they could fire the Blades back to the second tier, but that wasn't to be the case.

Conor Sammon deal promised so much but didn't deliver

After playing for the likes of Wigan Athletic in the Premier League, as well as teams like Derby, Ipswich and Rotherham in the EFL, Sammon was expected to come in and be a regular goalscorer at League One level for the Blades.

Sheffield United manager at the time, Nigel Adkins, couldn't hide his delight after he completed a deal to sign both Sammon and Sharp on the same day, telling the Blades' website: "Delighted to get both players over the line, and I'm looking forward to working with them.

"Billy is someone I know well and Conor is a player we have admired from afar and have monitored his progress since he was at Kilmarnock."

Sharp hit the ground running and would eventually score 21 goals in 44 League One appearances during the 2015/16 season, and the early signs were that Sammon was going to compliment him nicely during the opening weeks of the campaign.

The Republic of Ireland international bagged two goals in a 3-1 win against Peterborough on his third appearance, before both Sammon and Sharp found the net in a 3-1 win over Doncaster Rovers, and it looked as if the pair were about to strike up a deadly partnership.

After they had both found the net in the win over Doncaster, Sammon spoke highly of Sharp when asked what it was like to play with him. He said, "It's very good. Billy is a real natural goalscorer. He's shown that throughout his career, and he's scored in six consecutive games, which is a really impressive stat.

"He's always looking to play on the shoulder, and he's looking to get shots off and get on the end of crosses, so it's really enjoyable for me playing up front alongside him.

"I think the two of us can benefit from playing alongside each other and help each other in different ways, so the more games we play together, the more of a relationship we'll build up on the pitch.

"I'm confident that every game we can score goals, and we can be a threat as a front two against opposition defences."

However, Sammon's hopes of building a successful partnership with Sharp didn't come to fruition as he struggled for starts from October onwards, and struggled for minutes from February onwards.

He played just 139 minutes of football from February onwards, and his last goal for the club came in December 2015, highlighting the drop-off in form.

In total, Sammon made 33 appearances for Sheffield United, just 15 of them being League One starts, and he scored just six goals as the Blades finished 11th, a disappointing campaign for the club.

On paper, Sammon and Sharp should have been able to form a partnership capable of terrorising League One defences, but it didn't materialse, and he'll be remembered as someone who didn't live up to expectations at Bramall Lane.

Conor Sammon and Billy Sharp are still playing despite being 38 years old

Quite remarkably, Sammon and Sharp are still going strong and are playing football at the age of 38.

Sharp is currently on the books of League Two side Doncaster Rovers, where he's impressing, while Sammon is north of the border in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football, with Alloa Athletic.

Sammon is used more as an impact sub nowadays, but he's still scoring goals, and he's played more games and scored more goals for Alloa than he has for any other club in his long career.

While it may not have worked out for him at Bramall Lane, Sammon is a well-known face in both Scotland and England, and the 10 caps he won for the Republic of Ireland under Giovanni Trapattoni show that he was a good striker in his prime, capable of playing in both the Premier League and on the international stage.

It's clear that both Sammon and Sharp love the game and are willing to play lower league football to prolong their careers while many of their peers have called it a day, and Sheffield United supporters will regret not seeing the strike duo play together on a more regular basis.