Only Southampton FC can claim they saw a better version of Sheffield United’s £4m signing | OneFootball

Throughout his career, it was perhaps only Southampton and Sheffield United that saw the best of James Beattie.

Back in the summer of 2007, following their relegation back down to the Championship, Sheffield United brought in striker James Beattie from Everton for a fee believed to be in the region of £4 million.

An England international four years earlier, it was something of a coup for the Blades to pull off the signing of Beattie, albeit the Lancaster-born attacker had struggled during his two years at Goodison Park.

His career began at Blackburn Rovers and saw him ply his trade for Southampton, Stoke City, Rangers, Blackpool and Accrington Stanley, as well as Everton and Sheffield United.

It is perhaps only his spell down on the south coast at St Mary’s with Southampton, though, that rivals the form he also showed at Bramall Lane with Sheffield United, with no other clubs ever really seeing the best of him.

Beattie was a goal machine for Southampton

In 1998, Beattie joined Southampton from Blackburn as part of a make-weight deal that saw future Bolton Wanderers legend Kevin Davies move to Ewood Park.

He had only made seven appearances for Rovers in two years as a professional up in Lancashire but immediately became something of a key man for Saints in the Premier League, as they continued to establish themselves higher up the table.

After signs of promise in his first couple of seasons, he then posted excellent numbers in four successive seasons in the top-flight, with 11 in 37, 12 in 28, 23 in 38 and then 14 in 37.

The 2002/03 campaign was particularly special for Beattie as he finished only behind Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry in the race for the golden boot, whilst propelling Saints to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, as well as the FA Cup final, which they lost by a goal to nil against Arsenal.

Mid-way through the season after that 14-goal campaign, the 2004/05 season, Beattie made the move to Everton and helped the Toffees finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League, albeit he only scored one in 11 games - and his departure was damning for Southampton as they were relegated.

He did reach double figures for David Moyes’ side the following campaign but a disappointing 2006/07 season saw him drop down to the Championship.

Beattie found himself amongst the goals again with Sheffield United

In just a season and a half of Championship football, having moved for £4 million, Beattie reignited his career and scored 34 goals in 62 league appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit, including 22 goals in 39 games in the 2007/08 season, ending up as United’s Player of the Year.

Beattie had already proven himself to be capable of being a real threat in the top-flight, but the pressure was on as he arrived at Bramall Lane as a marquee addition for the just-relegated Blades, and he also needed to rediscover the form he had previously shown with Saints.

Beattie did just that, hitting the ground running from the off with a goal on debut and then winning the Championship's Player of the Month award for both August and September as he scored seven goals in his first eight games that season.

Sheffield United went on to underwhelm with a ninth-place finish in the league, though, despite Beattie returning from a knee injury mid-way through the campaign to inspire them to just two defeats in their last 12 games, with a run of form in which he scored nine goals in those 12 games.

Having notched 12 in 23 by the time the January transfer window of 2009 rolled around in the following campaign, Beattie was sought after and made the return to the Premier League with a £3.5 million move to Stoke, having rediscovered his form with Sheffield United.

Seven goals in his first 16 games for Stoke marked him out as a good signing initially, but he then struggled for game time during the 2009/10 campaign under the management of Tony Pulis.

He eventually moved north of the border to Scottish giants Rangers, but failed to score in ten appearances for the Bears before a loan move to Ian Holloway’s Premier League Blackpool in the winter transfer window of the 2010/11 campaign, but, again, he failed to score for the Seasiders.

Not even a reunion with Sheffield United down in League One could find a spark for Beattie as he finished his second stint at Bramall Lane without a goal.

He eventually moved back to Lancashire in 2012, joining Accrington Stanley and scoring seven goals in 27 appearances for the fourth-tier Reds, before then taking on the role of player-manager for a season.

Beattie showed glimpses of quality at both Stoke and Everton, but he eventually bounced around a variety of clubs in the Premier League and the EFL, only finding a couple of homes that ever really saw the best of him.

He had showed so much promise that he had earned five England caps during his career, but it was perhaps only Southampton for four years and Sheffield United for 18 months or so that ever saw the best of him.