Where are the last 10 Shirecliffe Graduates sold by Sheffield United now? | OneFootball

A recent report from Talksport suggested that former Blades academy graduate, Kyle Walker, may finally return to the club next season. It has been 15 years since Walker last played for the Blades.

But what has happened to the most recent 10 Shirecliffe graduates who have played for the senior team and left Bramall Lane for a fee?

Will Osula

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Starting with the most recent on the list, Will Osula. The Danish striker left Bramall Lane for Newcastle United in the summer for a reported initial fee of £10 million which could rise to £15 million.

While many of us Blades would have liked to see what he could do in the Championship, the fee was too good to turn down.

Osula came to Shirecliffe in 2018 and made 31 appearances for the Blades scoring 3 goals after breaking into the men’s team in 2021.

Since moving to Newcastle, Osula has made six appearances for the Magpies. Three of his Premier League appearances have been just a minute against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Brighton. His longest appearance on the pitch in the league was 7 minutes against Fulham in September.

Whilst his start to life on Tyneside has so far been slow, Osula still has time to complete the difficult task of pushing past Newcastle’s main forwards Isak and Wilson.

Daniel Jebbison

(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Jebbison’s departure from the Blades was technically a free but the Blades did reportedly receive a training fee of £1.5 million from his new club, AFC Bournemouth.

Similarly, to Osula, Jebbison joined the Blades academy in 2018 and went on to play 35 games for the men’s team scoring 3 goals.

Since his move, Jebbison has made three appearances for the Cherries this season playing 26 total minutes in the Premier League. Plus, a first half of EFL Cup action as the South Coast side lost to West Ham.

On 30th August 2024, Jebbison was loaned to Watford and he made his Hornets debut at Bramall Lane and picked himself up a yellow card.

He has so far started 2 games for Watford and made nine appearances for the club.

Iliman Ndiaye

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Iliman Ndiaye left the Blades in Summer 2023 to join Marseille reportedly for a fee in the region of £20 million.

Ndiaye started his time with the Blades in the academy in 2019 but credit for his development must also go to Boreham Wood.

The Senegalese forward scored 22 goals in 88 matches in red and white before departing for his boyhood Marseille, leaving many Blades heartbroken.

His time in France lasted just a season. He made 46 appearances for Les Olympiens including 2 matches in the Champions League. He scored three goals and got three assists in Ligue 1 and added a Europa League goal to his total tally.

This summer, he left Marseille for Everton. The only piece of satisfaction, that Blades can take from the move is how he is proving our evaluations of his Premier League quality correct. He currently has three goals in 15 appearances for the Toffees. A decent start for a forward playing for a side sat 17th in the league.

Jake Eastwood

Eastwood left the Blades for Grimsby Town in Summer 2023 for an undisclosed fee. Eastwood had been part of the Blades men’s team since 2016 and had 11 loan spells away from the club before departing permanently.

His Blades career led to three on field appearances for the club struggling to break into the first team as goalkeeper. Which to be fair to him was a position held by both Dean Henderson and Aaron Ramsdale during his time at the club.

Grimsby Town were his seventh loan team joining them in 2021. Since moving their permanently, Eastwood has played 27 matches in the last two seasons.

Unfortunately, for Eastwood his appearances are lower than they could have been due to him sustaining a ruptured patellar tendon in September of this year. At the time of the injury, he was ruled out for up to six months.

Hopefully, he can get back on to the pitch soon.

Aaron Ramsdale

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Ramsdale left the Blades for Arsenal in Summer 2021, after a one season return to the club for a reported fee worth up to £30 million, initially £24 million. It made him the most expensive goalkeeper in the Gunners’ history.

After three seasons at the Emirates and being Mikel Arteta’s No.1, Ramsdale saw himself become second choice to David Raya and left the North London club this summer.

Ramsdale joined Southampton for a reported fee of £25 million and has so far got one clean sheet in nine Premier League appearances for the Saints.

He is currently out injured with a broken finger, his most recent game was against Wolves on 9th November.

David Brooks

(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Steel City Derby 2017 hero, David Brooks spent some time at Shirecliffe after a decade in Manchester City’s academy.

In July 2018, Brooks like Ramsdale and Jebbison made the switch to AFC Bournemouth for a reported £11.5 million.

Brooks has scored 20 goals in 114 appearances for the Cherries and has shown great resilience to continue his career after being diagnosed and recovering from Lymphoma.

Last season, Brooks spent time on loan at Southampton again mirroring Aaron Ramsdale, playing 20 times and scoring 2 goals in the Championship.

Back at Bournemouth, Brooks has 1 goal in 6 Premier League appearances for the Cherries this season.

After his loan at Southampton, many of us Blades have wanted to see Brooks return to Bramall Lane.

George Long

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Long had been in the Blades academy since 2002 and signed on with the men’s team in 2011. He had three loan spells away from the club at Oxford United, Motherwell, and AFC Wimbledon.

In this seven years, before his departure to Hull City for an undisclosed fee in 2018, Long made 123 Blades appearances.

Long’s time with the Tigers saw him play 65 times and his main season as their No.1 came in 2019-2020 where he played 45 Championship games.

In 2021, Long joined Millwall on a free and after making no league appearances in his first season, went on to make 36 Championship appearances in his second and final season at the Den.

In 2023, Long joined his current club, Norwich City. He has made a total of 14 league appearances for the Canaries. 7 in his first season and 7 so far this season as he battles with Angus Gunn for the No.1 spot.

Louis Reed

(Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Reed joined the Blades academy in 2012 and by 2014 had entered the men’s team. He made 59 appearances for the club before spending his final season on loan at Chesterfield.

His first departure from the Blades saw him sign for Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee. He made 85 appearances for the League One side leaving on a free as they gained promotion to the Championship in 2020-2021.

From there, he joined Swindon Town in League Two for two seasons and made 67 total appearances for the club before leaving for Mansfield Town.

His current club, Mansfield Town appears to be where Reed has found his feet as he is the Stags captain and last season was part of the side that got promoted to League One. He plays alongside another former Blade in Stephen Quinn in the midfield.

Ben Whiteman

(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

A Shirecliffe graduate who also spent time at Manchester United’s Carrington academy, Whiteman broke through at Bramall Lane in 2014. He only made 12 appearances for the Blades.

He left Bramall Lane to join his former loan club Doncaster Rovers for an undisclosed fee in 2018.

Whiteman became Doncaster Rovers captain during his time at the Keepmoat and scored an impressive 25 goals in 159 appearances for Rovers.

He is currently playing for Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End where he became club captain in July 2024. The midfielder has made 155 appearances and scored 11 goals since joining the club in January 2021.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Calvert-Lewin left in the same season as Che Adams and Aaron Ramsdale’s first departure. The 27-year-old joined the academy in 2005 and in 2014 he progressed into the men’s team.

He played 12 games for the Blades without scoring a goal and spent time out on loan with Stalybridge Celtic and Northampton Town.

In August 2016, he joined Everton for a reported fee of £1.5 million. He has impressively stayed with the club for eight years and scored 70 goals in 260 games so far.

This season, he has two goals in 13 appearances playing alongside Iliman Ndiaye on Merseyside.

Takeaways

The last 10 Blades to have graduated from Shirecliffe and played for the senior team are a mix of players who have had impressive careers so far and those who are at the beginning of what could be very strong careers.

With the rumours surrounding Kyle Walker’s return, there are many on this list that would also be welcomed back to the club with open arms.

Ultimately, the strength of the clubs that these players have been involved with show once again how good Sheffield United continue to be at creating top-class footballers. Whilst, leaving the torture for all Blades everywhere of What if they’d all stayed?