Player snubbed Leeds United to join Sheffield United - but it's not gone to plan | OneFootball

Sheffield United looked the winners at the time, but it’s been a tricky spell for the player

Jamie Shackleton crossed Yorkshire in the summer of 2024, ditching Leeds United in favour of Sheffield United.

The Blades will have been happy to get one over their local rivals at the time, but it’s not quite worked out for Shackleton at Bramall Lane.

While he is adaptable and a talented player, he has struggled with injuries while with the side, and not for the first time in his career.

Chris Wilder has now confirmed that Shackleton has faced a further setback in his return to fitness, compounding a difficult spot for the player.

Jamie Shackleton has missed a lot of football for Sheffield United

Since joining the Blades, the right-back, who can just as easily slot into midfield, has managed just 304 minutes of football across 15 outings.

To put that into perspective, he has twice as many appearances to his name for Millwall, where he spent a season on loan in the 2022/23 campaign.

According to Transfermarkt’s calculations, Shackleton has missed over 400 days with this current foot injury, which works out to 58 games he’s been absent for in that time.

There had been hope he was nearing a return to the pitch, but Wilder’s fresh update is not a positive turn.

Chris Wilder delivers fresh Jamie Shackleton update – it’s not good

“It’s a little bit of a setback, from Shacks’ point of view,” Wilder told journalists, as quoted by The Star.

Wilder was then asked whether a loan might be part of the plan for Shackleton in the future, who has a contract until 2027.

“First and foremost, we’ve got to get him back fit and be involved,” the Blades boss replied.

“Getting minutes and getting training for a period of time before anybody – and that’s right across the board – is available for us or is available for, maybe, a loan to get themselves back playing.”

Taking into account this latest update, it’s certainly not how United or Shackleton would have liked his move from Leeds to pan out.

There is still time for Jamie Shackleton

Wilder revealed when signing Shackleton that the player had had the opportunity to remain with Leeds, a decision that may well have worked out better for the Blades, in hindsight.

Considering they convinced him to cross Yorkshire, however, his £7,500-per-week wage, as estimated by Capology, is fairly modest by both Championship and the Blades’ standards.

He still has 18 months left on his deal, and the hope will be that his luck won’t be down enough to spend most of that in the treatment room, too.

At 26 years old, he still has plenty of years of his career ahead of him, and enough time on his deal to make it mutually beneficial for the Blades to guide him back to the first team.

If they do, they’re getting a fairly young midfielder, with Championship experience, on a relatively affordable contract and with potential to develop further.

It means that there is still a path there for Shackleton and the Blades to rescue something from this deal; there’s still plenty he can add at full fitness.