Portsmouth FC will sense 'What if?' after Sheffield United raid | OneFootball

Enda Stevens was critical in Pompey's League Two triumph, and he played in the Premier League for the Blades.

Enda Stevens was, at his peak, a starting international and top-half Premier League wing-back.

The Irishman, who played in the Europa League back in 2011 for Shamrock Rovers, was a critical member of Chris Wilder's extraordinary Sheffield United team that deservedly secured a top-half Premier League finish in the 2019/20 season.

But before there was the success in South Yorkshire, Stevens had to earn his stripes all the way down in League Two, and it was there that he started making a name for himself on these shores.

He was instrumental for Portsmouth when they won the fourth tier back in 2017 under Paul Cook, having only been top in the final couple of minutes of the campaign.

Pompey were raided that summer though, with Cook leaving to join Wigan Athletic and captain Michael Doyle leaving for Coventry City. Stevens got his move that summer as well, and since then he's hardly looked back.

Pompey may regret not keeping hold of Enda Stevens

The Irish left-back was 21 when he came over to England and signed for Aston Villa, having previously played for UCD, St.Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers in his homeland.

After short loan spells at Notts County, Northampton Town and Doncaster Rovers (twice), Stevens continued to find first-team opportunities at Villa Park limited, and therefore left permanently to join Portsmouth alongside Cook in the summer of 2015.

After a couple of years sitting in the lower half of the fourth tier, it was the 2015/16 season which really saw Pompey start to challenge for a return to the third tier, with Stevens grabbing ten assists in his first season as Pompey agonisingly lost out to Plymouth Argyle with the final kick of the game in the play-off semi-final.

He also reached double figures for assists in his second season, and scored a crucial Boxing Day goal at Newport County. That was the season where Pompey, after a really poor first chunk of the season that saw them sit outside the play-off places after a home defeat to Crewe Alexandra in early March, hit a sensational run of form at the back end of the campaign in order to win promotion on Easter Monday, and sensationally earn a 6-1 win over Cheltenham Town on the final day of the season in order to secure the fourth tier title.

That Cheltenham game was actually Stevens' 99th and last Pompey appearance, and he would remember it fondly as his cross deflected in off of Daniel O'Shaughnessy to kick-start the rout.

He moved to Sheffield United that summer, and it was at Bramall Lane where he arguably spent the best years of his career.

Stevens became a Premier League and Ireland regular

He was an immediate hit in South Yorkshire, and the Dublin native spent two seasons as United's regular left-back in the second tier - with that including the Championship promotion-winning season in 2018/19 in which he played 45 of 46 games, scoring four goals and registering six assists.

The 2019/20 season was arguably the best of Stevens' career, as he played in all 38 Premier League games, including netting a stunner at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

He, alongside the late George Baldock, was imperative at wing-back in the Blades' extraordinary 'overlapping centre-backs' tactic, pioneered by assistant Alan Knill, as the Bramall Lane club made a real impression on their return to the Premier League after more than a decade away.

The season after, Stevens continued to be a regular starter but was part of the United team that really struggled to adjust to 'lockdown football', as they finished rock-bottom of the Premier League and returned to the Championship.

The season after saw Slavisa Jokanovic come and go and then Paul Heckingbottom take the reins, with Stevens' minutes starting to lower given that he had gone the wrong side of 30 from a footballing perspective. He was eventually released in the summer of 2023.

He made 202 appearances for Sheffield United in total, scoring nine goals as well. And upon him leaving Bramall Lane for Stoke City, many fans were devastated - with one fan commenting on the Blades' X post of Stevens leaving alongside centre-back Jack O'Connell saying: "That legendary overlapping centre-back routine was amazing and epitomised by these [two] Blades heroes!"

All of this was accompanied by his international exploits, as he became a regular left-back under Mick McCarthy and then Stephen Kenny at the Aviva Stadium - making 26 appearances for his country in total without scoring.

Pompey may have serious regret at missing out on his prime years

When Stevens was signed by Portsmouth it was perhaps a risk given that he had made only a handful of appearances in the EFL, for a couple of different clubs.

But perhaps Pompey should've looked to extend his contract in the summer of 2016, knowing that he was entering the final year of his deal. Ultimately, that didn't end up happening, and he therefore signed for Sheffield United as a free agent in May 2017, barely a couple of weeks after he had helped Pompey to lift the fourth tier crown.

Particularly when you consider Pompey's lack of left-back options in the 2017/18 season, it even strengthens the case as to why Pompey really should've made more of a fight to keep their Player of the Season from the 2016/17 campaign.

Tareiq Holmes-Dennis was brought in on loan from Premier League-bound Huddersfield Town to be his replacement, but that ended horrifically, with him suffering an almost career-ending knee injury only 38 minutes into the opening game of the season against Rochdale, with new manager Kenny Jackett deciding to rotate between Dion Donohue and Brandon Haunstrup at left-back that season.

That, combined with what Sheffield United enjoyed with Stevens, will leave a big tinge of regret when it comes to the Irishman at Fratton Park. Yes, both clubs are back at the same level now, but it has been contrasting journies to get to this point, with Stevens and the Blades enjoying some true highs, whilst Pompey scrap to climb the pyramid they once sat toward the top of.