Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday shared the same transfer frustration with ex-Derby County favourite | OneFootball

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had forgettable spells at Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, but Derby County will have positive memories of the winger.

The rivalry between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday is one of the most intense in English football, and few players have crossed the Steel City divide.

Sheffield United may have had the upper hand on Sheffield Wednesday in recent years, but the animosity between the two clubs remains as strong as ever, with few other derbies in the country able to match the level of passion found on both sides of South Yorkshire.

Given the dislike between the Blades and the Owls, it certainly takes a brave player to represent both clubs, but there are a handful who have spent time at both Bramall Lane and Hillsborough over the years.

The likes of Marvin Johnson, Alan Quinn, Terry Curran, Leon Clarke, Gary Madine, Chris O'Grady and Dean Windass are among those who have played for both, and there are even a few connections in the two clubs' current squads, with United's Mark McGuinness and Wednesday's Max Lowe having previously plied their trade on the other side of the Steel City.

However, while those are some of the more high-profile examples, there are a number of others that supporters of both clubs may have forgotten, including winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had forgettable Sheffield United spell before Cardiff City success

Mendez-Laing began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he really started to make a name for himself during a loan spell at Peterborough United in the 2010-11 season, where he scored five goals and provided three assists in 40 appearances.

Given Mendez-Laing's exploits with Posh, he looked to be an exciting signing for Sheffield United when they brought him in on a temporary basis in the summer of 2011 following their relegation to League One.

The Blades would have been hoping that, having achieved promotion with Peterborough the previous season, Mendez-Laing could replicate that success at Bramall Lane and help them to an immediate return to the Championship, but it did not work out that way.

Mendez-Laing scored just one goal and provided one assist in 11 appearances for United, with only six of those coming from the start, and the final outing of his six-month loan spell came in October as injuries plagued him during the latter part of his time in South Yorkshire.

After a second spell with Peterborough and loan stints at Portsmouth, Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United, Mendez-Laing finally rediscovered his form after joining Rochdale in the summer of 2015, and his impressive performances at Spotland earned him a move to the Championship with Cardiff City two years later.

While Mendez-Laing's time with the Bluebirds ended in his contract being terminated after a positive drugs test, he was part of the squad that won automatic promotion to the Premier League in the 2017-18 season under Neil Warnock, and he scored a total of 14 goals and registered 11 assists in 92 games during his three-year spell with the Welsh outfit.

Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County will have different memories of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

As he looked to rebuild his career after his controversial Cardiff exit, Mendez-Laing had a brief reunion with Warnock at Middlesbrough before joining Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer in November 2021.

Given that Mendez-Laing's time at Sheffield United was so underwhelming, few Owls supporters were even aware of his Blades connection when he arrived at Hillsborough, but his mid-season signing did come as a surprise considering that Darren Moore's existing squad were already mounting a strong promotion push.

While it took Mendez-Laing a little bit of time to get up to speed, he was used fairly regularly by Moore in the second half of the season, but despite producing some bright moments, his numbers did not live up to expectations, with the winger scoring just two goals and providing three assists in 19 games for the Owls.

In fact, Mendez-Laing will primarily be remembered at Hillsborough for his failure to track back in the play-off semi-final second leg against Sunderland, which allowed Jack Clarke the space to drive forward and pull the ball back to Patrick Roberts, who slotted home a stoppage-time equaliser to send the Black Cats through to the final.

Mendez-Laing was offered a new contract at the end of the season, but he rejected the chance to remain at S6 in order to join newly-relegated Derby County, and his performances at Pride Park certainly left Wednesday supporters wondering why they did not see that version of him during his time at the club.

The 33-year-old scored 21 goals and registered 33 assists in 145 appearances during his three-year spell with the Rams, with his best season coming in the 2022-23 campaign when he netted a stunning 10 goals and provided 18 assists to help Paul Warne's men to automatic promotion from League One.

Such was Mendez-Laing's impact in the East Midlands, he was handed the captain's armband ahead of last season, but he fell out of favour following Warne's exit in February, and he departed this summer to link up with his former manager at ambitious League Two side MK Dons.

Mendez-Laing was a firm fan favourite during his time at Derby, but despite showing glimpses of his ability, he did not manage to achieve that same status on either side of the Steel City, and neither United nor Wednesday fans will look back too fondly on his time at their club.