Sheffield United got it spot on with £4m Everton transfer agreement | OneFootball

Sheffield United's £4 million deal to sign striker James Beattie from Everton in the summer of 2007 was a success.

Sheffield United will be hoping to make an immediate return to the Premier League this season.

Sheffield United were relegated from the top flight last season after just one year in the division but after an excellent start to life in the Championship, they look to be in a strong position to bounce back at the first attempt.

Despite working against a backdrop of takeover uncertainty, manager Chris Wilder was able to bring in 10 new signings this summer, including two strikers in Kieffer Moore and Tyrese Campbell.

Moore is yet to produce his best form at Bramall Lane but Campbell has made a big impact in recent weeks and he endeared himself to Blades supporters when he netted the winner in his side's 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Steel City derby in November.

Moore and Campbell will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous United strikers who have fired the club to promotion from the Championship, such as Billy Sharp, Oli McBurnie, and Iliman Ndiaye, but they may also be aiming to emulate James Beattie, who enjoyed an incredibly successful spell in South Yorkshire between 2007 and 2009.

Sheffield United struck gold with James Beattie deal

United spent big in the summer of 2007 after suffering relegation from the Premier League and Beattie became their marquee signing when he arrived from Everton for a fee of £4 million.

Beattie had previously spent time with the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and his decent goalscoring record in the top flight offered hope that he would be able to deliver for the Blades in the Championship.

It certainly worked out that way, and Beattie netted an impressive 22 goals and provided four assists in 41 games during his debut season at Bramall Lane, with only Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scoring more goals than the former England international in the second tier.

Unfortunately for Beattie, his teammates could not reach the same high standards as he did, and despite a late upturn in form after Kevin Blackwell replaced Bryan Robson as manager in February, United recorded an underwhelming ninth-placed finish but the striker was recognised for his outstanding individual performances as he won the club's Player of the Year award.

Beattie's prolific form continued into the following season, and he scored 12 goals and registered three assists in his first 24 appearances of the campaign as the Blades emerged as automatic promotion contenders, but the club suffered a huge blow when he departed for Stoke City in January 2009 for a fee of £3.5 million, and Blackwell's men eventually went on to lose to Burnley in the play-off final at Wembley.

Despite leaving the club in January, Beattie finished the 2008-09 season as United's top scorer, and given that they only finished three points behind second-placed Birmingham City, supporters will no doubt have wondered what could have been if they had kept hold of their number nine.

James Beattie failed to replicate Sheffield United impact in second spell

Less than a year into his time at Stoke, Beattie was involved in an infamous dressing room bust-up with manager Tony Pulis after a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal, and that would prove to be a turning point in his career.

Beattie departed the bet365 Stadium to join Rangers in August 2010, but he was released by the Scottish giants the following summer after a disappointing loan spell at Blackpool, and he returned to Bramall Lane on a free transfer in November 2011.

With United aiming for promotion from League One, they would no doubt have been hoping that Beattie could replicate the fine form he showed during his first spell at the club, but he failed to score in 19 appearances, with only two of those coming from the start.

The Blades suffered plenty of heartbreak in the 2011-12 season as they were beaten to automatic promotion by bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday before losing to Huddersfield Town on penalties in the play-off final, and Beattie was released at the end of the campaign.

While Beattie's return did not go as well as he would have hoped, it has not damaged his legacy at the club, nor has the fact that he crossed the Steel City to spend a brief three-month spell as assistant manager to Garry Monk at Wednesday in 2020.

Across his two stints with United, Beattie scored 34 goals and provided seven assists in 84 games, ensuring that he will forever be remembered by supporters, and there may still be some frustration that the club were unable to make a profit on him when he was sold to Stoke in 2009.