Chris Wilder and Sheffield United must surely regret Charlton Athletic raid | OneFootball

Sheffield United signed a player from Charlton Athletic for a six-figure fee in January 2018.

Chris Wilder would have been hoping for big things when he finally secured the signing of Ricky Holmes from Charlton Athletic in January 2018, but the move to Bramall Lane didn't quite work out for the winger.

Holmes was no stranger to Wilder when the Sheffield United boss registered an interest in signing him from Charlton Athletic during the summer transfer window in 2017, with the duo having worked together previously at Northampton Town.

The pair had both played key roles in winning the 2015/16 League Two title with the Cobblers, so it perhaps should not have come as a surprise that Wilder was keen on reuniting with the winger.

After failing to sign Holmes during the summer, Wilder finally got his man in January 2018, spending a transfer fee believed to be worth £400,000 to link back up with a player who he felt was capable of making the same impact in the Championship as he had done in the fourth tier of English football a couple of years earlier.

The Blades' boss spoke highly of his new signing in an interview that was posted on the club website.

"I worked with Ricky previously and it is no secret that I'm an admirer of his ability," said Wilder.

"He has something a little different and I'm confident that his best years are ahead of him."

However, Holmes did not end up having the impact that Wilder had anticipated at a higher level, with the deal to sign him being one that the Blades must surely look back on with regret.

Holmes failed to make an impact at Sheffield United

After making 12 goal contributions in League One for Charlton during the first half of the 2017/18 campaign, Holmes would have felt confident that he could continue that form at the level above for his new club.

The Blades occupied sixth spot in the Championship table at the time of his arrival, with their sights set on a play-off place and the potential of promotion to the Premier League.

Unfortunately for Holmes, he only played five times for Sheffield United, with four of them coming as substitute appearances, as they finished 10th in the second tier. He never scored or assisted for the club, while his only start ended in a 3-0 defeat away against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He later spent time on loan at Oxford United and Gillingham, before his time at Bramall Lane came to an end in 2020, and he returned to Northampton on a free transfer.

Holmes has no regrets

Holmes explained in an interview with The Athletic that he was hampered by a back injury that he picked up on a building site while he was a semi-professional footballer for most of his career.

Therefore, he does not have any regrets, even though he does wonder how far he could have gone in the game if he had been without the back pain.

“I don’t know how far I could have gone without the back pain but I have played for some good clubs," said Holmes.

"I have squeezed out what I can by managing the injury."

He was also full of praise for Wilder, despite his former boss having not handed him as many opportunities as he would have hoped for at Bramall Lane, mainly due to the form of other players and a tactical change that was made ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.

“When he walks into the dressing room, the place lifts. The respect is there but also the banter. You can have a proper conversation with him," said Holmes.

Holmes is now starring for Farnborough in the National League South at the age of 37, and while he may have no regrets about the way things went for him at Sheffield United, Wilder and the club must look back and wonder who else they could have brought in with the £400,000 that was spent on signing him.