Sheffield United: 2018 Chris Wilder signing could not have worked out better - View | OneFootball

Chris Wilder's choice to sign David McGoldrick for Sheffield United proved to be an inspired deal

Highlights

Championship outfit Sheffield United have experienced all the highs and lows football has to offer in recent years, as the Blades won the League One title in 2017, and earned a surprising subsequent promotion to the Premier League just two years later.

Then, against all the odds, Chris Wilder's men landed a top-half spot come the end of the 2019/20 top-flight season, but were relegated back to the Championship by 2021.

Prior to relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2020/21 season, twice promotion-winning manager Wilder left in the spring of 2021, after almost five years at the managerial helm.

In Wilder's absence, the Blades finished in the top six at the end of the 2021/22 second tier campaign, but missed out on promotion after losing a penalty shootout in the second leg of their play-off semi-final with Nottingham Forest.

But the South Yorkshire outfit would come back stronger the next season, and earned automatic promotion back to the Premier League in 2023.

However, the Blades would once again struggle in the top-flight, while Wilder returned to Bramall Lane in December 2023 in an effort to save their Premier League status but did not manage to do so.

The Blades' recent history has been underpinned by the contributions of Wilder, who has brought several signings to the club over the years, but perhaps none have been more successful than the 2018 addition of David McGoldrick.

McGoldrick signing was a masterstroke from WIlder

The Republic of Ireland international joined Bramall Lane as a free agent ahead of the 2018/19 season, after leaving Ipswich Town, on an initial one-year deal and never looked back, staying with the Blades all the way to the summer of 2022.

The last time the forward had managed double figures in a Championship campaign prior to his move to South Yorkshire, came back in 2013/14, as he scored 14 goals in 31 second tier appearances for the Tractor Boys.

It is therefore fair to say that in his first season at Bramall Lane, McGoldrick exceeded the expectations that Wilder and co would have had in place for him, as he scored 15 goals in 45 Championship outings.

These contributions from the Irishman helped fire the Blades up to the Premier League, and he was rewarded for his efforts with his first ever stint in the top-flight.

Having spent his entire career up until 2019 in the Football League, McGoldrick clearly needed some time to adjust to life in the top tier, as he managed just two goals in 28 appearances in his first Premier League campaign.

But the former Tractor Boys striker was able to score eight goals during the 2020/21 top-flight campaign, despite the fact that the Blades were relegated with just 23 points to their name.

McGoldrick was a surprise package in the Premier League

Having played the entirety of his career in the Football League until 2019, when he was aged 31, many would have tipped McGoldrick to struggle in the Premier League.

But during the 2020/21 season, he proved that he was capable of producing the goods at top-flight level, as he complemented his eight goals with an assist, while making nine goal contributions for a side who won just seven games is a respectable feat.

After leaving the Blades in 2022, McGoldrick then went on to prove that his clinical instincts are still very much intact, as he scored 22 goals in 39 League One appearances for Derby County, before going on to score 12 goals in 37 League Two outings for Notts County during the 2023/24 campaign.

The Bramall Lane faithful will always remember McGoldrick as an impressive striker who exceeded expectations and helped guide the club to top-flight football.