Why Oli McBurnie Sheffield United transfer return could suit all parties as striker’s stance clarified
After confirmation that he is now a free agent again in the summer, following Las Palmas’ relegation from the top tier of Spanish football, you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict that Oli McBurnie would soon be linked with a return to Sheffield United. Especially after United’s own season ended in heartbreak, missing out on promotion back to the Premier League.
The Scottish international moved to Spain last summer after his Bramall Lane deal expired, despite boss Chris Wilder hoping that he could keep hold of the forward. McBurnie even returned to Shirecliffe to train for a while. But a contract offer could not be formulated in time, amid an ongoing takeover battle that dominated the summer, and he moved on.
That wasn’t the end of United’s interest, however, with Wilder and McBurnie understood to have kept in touch following the latter’s move to Spain and talk behind the scenes of a potential loan move in January. But the La Liga strugglers made it clear they would not sanction an exit as they battled to stay in the top tier, and United instead signed Tom Cannon from Leicester City.
Six months on, though, the stars may align again. United are pretty well stocked in the forward department but there is uncertainty about Rhian Brewster’s future, with the former Liverpool man in negotiations over a new contract, and Kieffer Moore will be 33 by the time the new campaign kicks off.
Tyrese Campbell was an inspired signing, hitting double figures and adding another in the play-off final for good measure, while Cannon took time to acclimatise to life at the Lane amid hope he will hit the ground running next season.
Why Oli McBurnie return talk makes sense for Sheffield United next season
But the chance to add a forward with a good track record in this division, on a free, could prove attractive to United and Wilder, a man big on “culture” and aware that McBurnie carries that in spades. In two of his last three seasons at Championship level, McBurnie scored a combined 35 goals - the outlier a barren 2021/22 season in which he struggled in front of goal - with his second-tier pedigree enough to persuade United to splash £20m on him back in 2019.
His goal record in the Premier League divided opinion amongst fans but in mitigation, he was asked to play an entirely different game in the top-flight than he had been accustomed to in the Championship. That’s no criticism of anyone involved, with United looking to get a foothold in the best football league in the world, but McBurnie - a link player in the Championship so adept at running from deep - became a de-facto targetman tasked with battling the likes of Virgil van Dijk in the air.
He was still good enough to finish as United’s joint-top scorer as they finished ninth in their first season back in the Premier League, with another former club in Swansea City reportedly interested in bringing him back to these shores this summer. McBurnie threw himself into life in Spain, making an impressive effort to learn the language rather than rely on others communicating to him in English, but a return to the UK would hold obvious appeal, especially with a young family to also consider.
Oli McBurnie has already made love for Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder clear
Moving to United in 2019 allowed McBurnie to be closer to his wider family in West Yorkshire and as recently as January, we understand the player’s priority - should he be allowed to leave Las Palmas - would have been a return to Bramall Lane. Hull City have also been linked, as have La Liga outfit Celta Vigo.
Speaking recently on BBC Radio Sheffield ahead of United’s play-off final against Sunderland, which saw Tommy Watson’s 95th-minute winner book the Black Cats’ place in the Premier League and condemn United to at least another season at second-tier level, McBurnie said of Wilder: “The manager has shown once again how good of a manager he is, and how he gets the maximum out of a dressing room.
“When you play for him, he gives you that motivation to go and run through a brick wall and you can see that in the boys’ performances this year. One of the strongest parts of his game is knowing how to get the best out of boys in certain situations.
“He’ll know who he needs to challenge and who needs an arm around the shoulder, to go and get 100 per cent out of them all. He needed to give me a kick up the backside sometimes and different things for other boys. He’ll know which buttons to press to get the best.”
On his own future, McBurnie added: “We didn’t reach our goal this season and we didn’t manage to stay up, so my contract has gone from three years to up again. So I’m a free agent.
“I just need to get home and spend some time with the family. It’s been lovely being out here but at the same time it’s also hard being away from the family so much. I’ll talk it over with the missus, and talk about what we want to do.”
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