Sheffield United fended off Man United & Man City for striker deal - he ended up becoming a non-league hero | OneFootball

Former Sheffield United striker Diego De Girolamo signed a professional deal with the Blades in 2012 despite interest from both Manchester clubs

Former Sheffield United striker Diego De Girolamo signed a professional deal with the Blades in 2012 despite strong interest from both Manchester United and Manchester City, but the promising forward never reached the heights expected.

De Girolamo's decision to stay in S2 was seen as a major coup for the Blades.

Despite concrete interest from both Manchester clubs, the then-17-year-old chose to commit his future to his boyhood club - having joined their academy at the age of seven.

The Chesterfield-born striker - who qualified for Italy through his Italian father from Naples - had already caught the attention of top-flight scouts with his performances in United's youth system.

His early promise seemed justified when he made both his professional and league against Coventry City and Colchester United - coming on as a substitute in the latter and providing an assist for Dave Kitson in a 3-0 win.

Unfortunately, things would soon take a turn for the worse.

Serious injury derailed Diego De Girolamo's Sheffield United career

Just as De Girolamo appeared to be breaking through into Sheffield United's first team, disaster struck in March 2013.

While representing Italy under-18's against Austria, he suffered a devastating ACL injury that would keep him out of action for nine months.

The injury proved to be a pivotal moment in his career - with then-manager Danny Wilson saying it would be "a minimum of six months", and the psychological impact of such a serious injury at that age cannot be underestimated.

Later on, in an attempt to regain match fitness and form, De Girolamo embarked on a series of loan spells that would define the next phase of his career. His first temporary move was to League Two side York City, where he scored three goals in four games during his first stint at Bootham Crescent.

Encouraged by this form, York City took him back on two further occasions during the 2014/15 season, but the goals dried up. A brief loan spell at Northampton Town followed, where he managed just six appearances without finding the net.

Bristol City move offered hope but ultimately led to non-league

After his Sheffield United contract expired in 2016, De Girolamo joined Championship side Bristol City on a free transfer.

He made just one senior appearance for the Robins - a substitute appearance in an EFL Cup win over Scunthorpe United. The majority of his time at Ashton Gate was spent with the under-23's, where he did show flashes of his ability, including a hat-trick against Burnley's development squad.

Yet again, more loan spells followed - the first at Cheltenham Town. After a purple patch of scoring a hat-trick in a Checkatrade Trophy tie against Leicester City's U23s, De Girolamo managed just one goal in four league appearances.

Then it was time to spend a season at boyhood club Chesterfield, where despite the emotional connection of playing for the club he supported, De Girolamo struggled to make any real impact and only played 15 times in the league, not contributing to any goals in the process, and that would be the end of his EFL journey.

Diego De Girolamo finally found his feet in non-league - a far cry away from being linked to Premier League clubs

After years of frustration with the professional game, De Girolamo finally found his feet following a move to Macclesfield in 2018 - the step-down in level proved to be exactly what his career needed.

For most of the last seven years, De Girolamo has plied his trade for Derbyshire outfit Buxton, who rose from the Northern Premier League and into the National League North after the forward's fourth season at The Silverlands, and with 94 goals in 193 matches for the Bucks, he will go down as one of their best modern-day players.

Former Buxton teammate and manager John McGrath paid tribute to De Girolamo's attitude, praising his adaptability to the full-time environment he once struggled with - the striker himself acknowledged that Buxton had helped him "fall back in love with football" after his professional struggles.

In May 2025, following a brief loan stint with former club Macclesfield, his successful stint at Buxton came to an end when he and teammate Tommy Elliott departed to join local rivals Matlock Town.

As De Girolamo prepares for a season in the NPL Division One East, his story at Sheffield United shows both the promise and unpredictability of youth players - and the ability to find success at different levels of the game, when the original dream doesn't quite work out as planned.