Sheffield United has had a forgettable year, finishing mid-table in the Championship, but things could have been very different if Chris Wilder had not been removed in the first place.

Indeed, this time last year, Sheffield United was dealing with the heartbreak of losing to Sunderland in the Championship play-off final, with Kieffer Moore’s sloppy back-pass being exploited by Tom Watson, whose precise finish ensured the Black Cats advanced to the Premier League while the Blades remained in the second tier.

The Sheffield United board took drastic action, deciding to fire Wilder despite achieving 90 points in the league, which is usually enough for automatic promotion, and coming within an inch of top-flight football via the playoffs.

Ruben Selles, who had just kept Hull City up, was brought in as his replacement, and this move proved to be a masterstroke for the Tigers and a nightmare for the Blades, with the Spaniard’s move from the MKM Stadium to Bramall Lane having far-reaching consequences, including for Scottish striker Oli McBurnie.

Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic reveals Oli McBurnie would have signed for Sheffield United instead had Chris Wilder been in charge.

Oli McBurnie joined Sheffield United from Swansea City in the summer of 2019 for about £20 million, after scoring 22 goals and assisting four in 42 league games for the Swans in 2018/19.

McBurnie, 29, would go on to make 159 Blades appearances in all competitions, scoring 29 and assisting nine, before leaving South Yorkshire for the Canary Islands in 2024, joining La Liga club Las Palmas on a free transfer.

Las Palmas were relegated in the striker’s first year in Spain, despite McBurnie scoring three goals and assisting six in 34 top-flight matches before leaving for free again last summer.

Sheffield United expressed an interest in bringing him back to Bramall Lane, but he chose to move to Humberside, joining Hull City, with whom he has recently helped fire to promotion, scoring the late winner in the Tigers’ play-off final against Middlesbrough, as well as 17 goals and eight assists in 37 league appearances during the regular season.

However, as Hull manager Jakirovic has revealed, things could have turned out very differently. The Bosnian claims that if Wilder had been in charge of the Blades during the summer window rather than Selles, McBurnie would have chosen them over the Tigers.

Jakirovic stated, “We signed Oli McBurnie three days before the season. I chatted with him in June and waited for him for three months.”He is quite fortunate to have come here, considering his football father is Chris Wilder. He has extensive championship experience and can handle pressure with ease. He is prepared for these types of games.”If Wilder had been Sheffield United’s head coach [last summer], Oli would have been a Sheffield United player 100%.”

As fate would have it, McBurnie would join Hull and propel them to the top flight, while the Blades were unable to sustain any real promotion campaign.

After Selles left Hull, Jakirovic took over on Humberside, and the Spaniard’s impact at Sheffield United was, to put it mildly, disastrous.

Not only did he manage a highly untidy and skewed summer window, but he lost each of his six games in command until the South Yorkshire club saw their mistake and called Wilder back.

If Wilder hadn’t been fired, Sheffield United may be celebrating promotion right now, albeit McBurnie probably doesn’t regret his choice.

Chris Wilder has a massive summer on his hands at Sheffield United following Sergej Jakirovic’s Oli McBurnie admission.

As soon as Wilder walked through the doors at Bramall Lane, it was clear he wasn’t happy with the team he had at his disposal, as evidenced by the additions of Jairo Riedewald and Patrick Bamford on free transfers outside of the window.

Bamford became the Blades’ primary centre-forward option after Kieffer Moore left for Wrexham, and neither Tyrese Campbell nor Tom Cannon were able to fill the void adequately.

A new centre-forward will almost surely be on Wilder’s shopping list this summer, but McBurnie will not be one of the alternatives, much to his dismay, as he attempts to rebuild the Blades once more.