Sheffield United will be looking on at Burnley with serious envy after £5m transfer coup | OneFootball

The Blades will be gutted that their play-off final defeat saw them miss out on a move for Kyle Walker.

Sheffield United will be hoping to shake off their play-off final heartache under new boss Ruben Selles.

The Blades recently parted ways with Chris Wilder for a second time after losing at Wembley to Sunderland for a place in the Premier League, with the former Reading and Hull City coach taking on arguably the biggest job of his career.

Expectations will be high as the club looks to bounce back to the top-flight at the second attempt, with plenty of teams showing in the past that it is possible after an original setback.

Supporters of United will still be reeling from the awful day out at Wembley, and they will feel even more anguish after looking at Kyle Walker’s recent move to Burnley this summer for £5 million.

The England international has linked up at Turf Moor on a two-year contract, aiming to use his vast amount of Premier League experience to aid a survival push.

Sheffield United will know that Walker could have sealed an emotional return to Bramall Lane if they had been victorious in the play-off final and sealed a top-flight return.

Instead, the Yorkshire outfit will look on with envy at Burnley, who have a player on their books that the Blades would so desperately want to see don the red and white stripes one last time.

Kyle Walker’s ambitions of Sheffield United return have always been clear

It’s no secret that Kyle Walker is a massive Sheffield United supporter, born in the Steel City and coming through the youth ranks at Bramall Lane, eventually departing the club in 2009 for Tottenham Hotspur before undergoing a brief loan spell back to Yorkshire in the same term.

Since making his mark with both Spurs and Manchester City in the Premier League, Walker has spoken openly about wanting another return to Sheffield United one day.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast last year, Walker said: “I don’t want to drop down too low because, no disrespect, but I feel the lower it gets, I think it gets harder.

"Certain things that you have the luxury of at City, whether facilities, nutrition, this, that or the other. But I’d like to finish at Sheffield United. That’s something that I would actually like to do.

“I was there from such a young age until that until I went to Tottenham and I only played five [league] games before I went to Tottenham, and then went back on loan for half a season.

"So I think I’ve got like 35 games, and I’d like to go for as long as possible, to give back or even pass on my experience to the younger players that are coming through or players that are there then. If I can do that, then I’d like to, yeah.”

Sheffield United will look with envy at Burnley for making Kyle Walker swoop

Sheffield United will be so disappointed to lose out on their Premier League place, with a victory over Sunderland almost guaranteeing that Kyle Walker would have reunited with his boyhood club.

Despite showing signs of slowing down, Walker still possesses such an appealing Premier League pedigree of 410 combined top-flight appearances - something surely that would have stood the Blades in good stead of bringing about a survival bid if they had made it back to the big time.

Instead, the club will look on to see how the 35-year-old can impact his new Burnley team, with the right-back expected to earn significant game time during his time in Lancashire.

Right-back is also an area that United aren't very strong at, with multiple loanees filling the position last season, whilst the developing Femi Seriki also had game-time there - Walker could've been a great player to learn from for the 22-year-old.

With Walker unable to retain his place in the top-flight with the Blades, it’s beginning to look like an emotional return may never be on the cards again, with Walker only having a limited number of seasons left before he hangs up the boots.

Of course, in two years time when his Burnley contract expires, Walker may be open to a final year or so at Bramall Lane, but he will be 37 at that point, and he may really be in 'father time' at that point.