Sheffield United were laughing with £0 transfer - it gave them £20m | OneFootball

Iliman Ndiaye joined the Blades on a free transfer, and he proved to be an inspired signing, eventually bringing the club an incredible profit.

Iliman Ndiaye's rise up the leagues in English football remains one of the most intruiging stories of the last few years, and for Sheffield United, it was one of risk that led to the ultimate reward and his impact will never be forgotten at Bramall Lane.

The winger's early career was that of little promise. He came through the ranks with French club FC Rouen Jugend, before moving to Marseille Youth. However, he struggled to make an impact at the Ligue Un giants, and eventually found himself in England.

Boreham Wood took a chance on the Senegal international, and he spent three years with the National League outfit. However, he never made a senior appearance for the Hertfordshire outfit, and it looked as though his professional footballing career was over before it even started.

He was given his chance by social media Sunday league side Rising Ballers. He had succeeded on trial at Sheffield United at the age of 19, but needed to keep up his fitness and he proved himself with the grassroots club, and it played a pivotal role in the rest of his career.

Sheffield United took a risk with Iliman Ndiaye but it paid off

Ndiaye would make just one appearance in the Premier League for the Blades in 2020/21, but it would be in the following campaign when the French-born ace would start to show just how much of a star he is. His team's relegation back to the Championship allowed him to become a regular under Paul Heckingbottom.

He played 30 league games for the South Yorkshire side, scoring seven goals and registering two assists. Sheffield United finished fifth, losing in the play-off semi-finals to Nottingham Forest on penalties. For the then 22-year-old, though, it would pave the way for his career to really take off at Bramall Lane.

The Blades were one of the favourites for promotion in 2022/23, and their return to the Premier League was much-needed. However, the likes of Ndiaye needed to step up, and he did as he scored 14 goals and picked up 11 assists in a true breakout campaign, lighting up the Lane with his flair and ingenuity and proving a more-than-adequate replacement in the side for Morgan Gibbs-White - who had shone on loan the year before.

He was available for every single league game and without him, Sheffield United would not have had the success that they did as they finished as runners-up to an extremely dominant Burnley side that was led by Vincent Kompany. But, Ndiaye would never feature in the Premier League for the side that took a punt on him while he was in non-league football.

Sheffield United received an incredible offer for Iliam Ndiaye that they had to accept

Throughout the summer, the winger's former club Marseille targeted him. However, the Blades were keen to keep hold of their talisman. Despite this, on August 1, 2023, an offer was accepted by Heckingbottom's side, although this was done 'reluctantly'.

Sheffield United's CEO, Stephen Bettis, said (via: sufc.co.uk): "Obviously, we wanted to keep Iliman, but unfortunately the player made it clear that he wanted to make the move happen, despite our best efforts to convince him to stay and play Premier League football. We thank him for his efforts and wish him well.

"With regards to the short-term, the plan is to support Paul Heckingbottom and the coaching team to be ready for the first game of the season against Crystal Palace."

A fee of around £20m was agreed between the two clubs, despite the Blades offering their star man a lucrative deal to stay in S2. However, the pull of returning to his boyhood team was too much for Ndiaye to turn down.

Nonetheless, Sheffield United will always look back on Ndiaye's time at Bramall Lane as positive, and while he did leave before a crucial season, he brought in significant profit with that departure.