Sheffield United have hit the jackpot by signing 5-goal ace | OneFootball

Tyrese Campbell's move to Sheffield United has breathed new life into the striker since his arrival from Stoke City.

Sheffield United striker Tyrese Campbell is one of the most in-form players in the Championship currently after scoring and assisting against Oxford United in Tuesday night's 3-0 win.

The ex-Stoke City man joined Chris Wilder's side at Bramall Lane in the summer on a free transfer following his decision not to renew terms. as he searched for a new permanent home for the first time as a professional player - this came after joining Stoke as a 16-year-old from Manchester City.

Campbell made 164 appearances for the Potters, scoring 36 goals and notching 21 assists. His most prolific league campaign in a Stoke shirt was 2019/20, where he netted nine goals in 33 appearances - bagging a goal every 180 minutes, on average.

The 24-year-old has become somewhat of a divisive figure among Stoke supporters in recent years, with debates over his attitude and whether he has ever been the same player since injury issues after scoring at a much slower rate of 18 goals in his next 98 games for the club.

However, there is undoubted talent there, and it was not too late for his career to get back on track, which Wilder and co. were willing to risk by taking a chance on a poor injury record this summer. When fit, Campbell has the quality to offer something at the upper reaches of the second tier.

Campbell does not have the most blistering goal record or a particularly impressive injury record, but he's still young and he also has extensive experience at this level. While signing the 24-year-old to come as the primary striker would seem fairly unambitious for a side that should be targeting automatic promotion, adding him as a support for the attacking unit was seen as a strong move.

However, Campbell is proving to be so much more than that as he appears to be a player fulfilling the early potential seen in those first few years in the Stoke first-team.

Sheffield United may have hit the jackpot with Tyrese Campbell on a free transfer

The risk was especially worth taking given Campbell's versatility, with the forward able to operate as a number-nine, a second-striker, or as a right-sided forward.

In a good season, Campbell will be knocking on the door of double figures in the goalscoring charts, and that looks likely to come to fruition this campaign if he can remain injury-free and remains starting matches.

If he can reproduce that this season without shouldering the whole burden for all their attacking output, then those goals could be the difference between success and failure for the Blades. Campbell is a smart addition for the here and now but he still has years ahead of him to develop, too.

Time will tell just how smart this move is in the long run for Sheffield United, but Stoke's loss has become their gain thus far. Campbell has been able to put together the sort of season that made him one of the most exciting young talents in English football when he first emerged at Stoke.

A player blessed with pace, directness, and a natural eye for goal, Campbell regularly showed flashes of his immense potential in the Championship.

However, his career has been plagued by injuries, with long spells on the sidelines halting his progress just as he looked to establish himself as one of the league’s top forwards back in 2020.

Few players in recent second tier memory have endured as much bad luck with injuries, and Campbell’s stop-start career at Stoke left fans and managers alike wondering what could have been had he been able to stay fit consistently. Despite these setbacks, his raw talent has never been in question. He simply needed a consistent run of games to fully unlock his potential.

Now at Sheffield United under Wilder, Campbell was looking for that much-needed opportunity to string games together and make his mark in the Championship once again. As a striker or right-sided winger, Campbell is a dynamic attacking threat.

His ability to cut inside from the wing and unleash powerful shots makes him a danger in inverted roles. He's also quick, direct, and able to stretch defences with his off-the-ball runs. His combination play with other Blades forwards has also been impressive in recent matches he has been starting in.

He is highly effective at cutting inside from the wing or driving at defenders with quick bounce passes off his teammates, often catching his opponent off guard with his quick bursts of speed. One of his standout qualities is his ability to get snapshots away, even in tight spaces, which makes him a constant threat around the box.

Campbell's agility and directness allow him to exploit defensive gaps and create chances for himself with minimal touches. That had seldom been seen in the latter stages of his Stoke career but has been improving game-on-game in a the red and white of Sheffield United.

The low-risk of a free transfer appears to have been a masterstroke thus far, with Wilder getting the most out of Campbell in nigh on five years.

Heading into the season, the signing of Campbell perhaps did not look like one with much ambition after he scored just three goals in 23 Championship appearances for Stoke in 2023/24.

Not only that, but it was unclear where and how much he would play, given the presence of Kieffer Moore, but Campbell has made the striker position his own for the Blades now.

Moore has notched twice so far, albeit his calf injury has kept him out of the team of late, which allowed Campbell to step up and be the main man. His five goals place him top of the Blades' scoring charts for the season, which not many would have expected back in August.

It had not been the easiest of beginnings for Campbell; however, with a change of system and Moore's issue, he has started to see his minutes on the pitch increase, and his presence at Bramall Lane is starting to grow week-by-week. Campbell's recent run of form has started to show supporters why he was brought to Sheffield United on a free in the summer.

There is now reason to believe that he could be the man to drive the team towards the Premier League. He has started in just six of their 13 matches, but has now notched five goals and an assist in each of his last six appearances as well, and it would not be surprising to see Campbell continue as the focal point of the attack for the foreseeable.

Campbell is outperforming his expected goals (xG) total, according to FBRef, which stands at 2.7 - showing that he's putting some tough chances in the back of the net when he has the opportunities created for him.

Sheffield United will be in and around the battle for automatic promotion come the end of the season, and if the 24-year-old carries on this current purple patch that he currently finds himself in, he could be a real difference maker come the end of the campaign, and he could even break the 20-goal barrier for the first time in his career.

It was never a question of his talent level and attributes, but Campbell is showing why he could prove to be one of the best free transfers made by any Championship club this summer, with Campbell looking like more of a shrewd signing by the game in a different red and white strip.