Sheffield United were promoted to the Premier League in 2019, ending a 12-year absence from the top division, and the Blades needed to spend some money to compete.
The Blades smashed their transfer record four times in the summer of 2019 in an attempt to remain up, and they were successful, finishing in the top half of the 2019/20 season. In addition, when Covid struck, they were an outside shot for a European location.
Ironically, few of those record-breaking signings made a lasting impression.
Luke Freeman was the first, joining from QPR for more than £3 million. He made 11 appearances that season and was loaned out to the Championship the next season. Callum Robinson, who broke the record, lasted only half a season before being loaned to West Brom.
Then came the two strikers that followed. Oli McBurnie, who joined from Swansea City for £20 million, ended the transfer window as the new club record signing. But before that, Lys Mousset joined from Bournemouth for £10 million.
Both were massively underwhelming as record signings, with Mousset netting only six Premier League goals and nine in his whole Blades career. During his three years at Bramall Lane, he cost Sheffield United £1.1 million every goal scored.
Lys Mousset’s boring stint with Sheffield United
When it was revealed that Mousset was the striker Sheffield United had smashed their transfer record once more by bringing in from Bournemouth, several eyebrows rose.
The Frenchman had top-flight experience, which was required for a Blades team that had played in League One three years prior.
However, three goals in three seasons at the Vitality Stadium did not stand out, and there were concerns about why he was signed and how the Cherries managed to profit from the £5.7 million they paid French club Le Havre three years after he arrived in England.
However, the 23-year-old was primarily a bench option at Bournemouth, and there were expectations that a larger position in the Blades’ setup would result in more goals. Mousset finished the 2019/20 season as Sheffield United’s top scorer, but with only six goals.
The Blades’ first season back in the Premier League was marked by outstanding defensive efforts. Mousset was not the hero of their ninth-place finish; instead, it was John Lundstram, John Fleck, John Egan, and Dean Henderson.
Then, when the defensive strength was lacking during the second season, Sheffield United required more from its record-breaking forwards. McBurnie only scored once, new record-breaking signing Rhian Brewster did not score at all, and Mousset was injured and only played 11 games.
The French forward missed the first nine games owing to a toe injury, and when he returned, he only made two starts before taking another 10-game break due to being unfavoured.
The Blades finished dead last, scoring only 20 goals, and Mousset struggled with injury in their first season back in the Championship, scoring three goals in just seven second-tier games before being loaned out to Torino in the second half of the season and then released at the end.
Lys Mousset never lived up to the £10 million price tag at Sheffield United.
When a striker is sold for an eight-figure sum, there is always a sense of anticipation, especially if the fee smashes a club record.
Unfortunately, Mousset was solid, if not unremarkable, which was insufficient for the amount expected of him, and many critics will see him as one of Sheffield United’s numerous transfer blunders between 2019 and 2021.
The Frenchman’s myriad injury concerns since leaving Bramall Lane in 2022 have been widely chronicled. He appeared 11 times for Nimes in the French second tier before sustaining an Achilles injury and having his contract terminated at German club Bochum.
A brief career resurgence in Ireland with Bohemians followed, but it lasted only nine games before he left again.
His time at Bramall Lane feels a million miles away now. A £10 million price tag was undoubtedly too exorbitant at the time, and looking back, it seemed a big waste now.
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