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The Blades will be looking back at their David Brooks move with a positive eye

Sheffield United gave winger David Brooks a lifeline in football; he repaid their faith and then some.

The Wales international had been with Manchester City for a decade, all through his childhood, but his dream of playing for City ended abruptly.

It was the Blades who offered Brooks a second chance, and he wasted no time in taking it.

The gamble paid off for the Yorkshire side, who not long after, bagged an astonishing sum for the young talent, who would go on to make a name for himself in the Premier League for Bournemouth.

David Brooks was “devastated” by Manchester City rejection

The winger had been in City’s youth setup since the age of seven, but at 17 years old, he was informed that he was going to be released from his scholarship with the Premier League side.

Having been there for a decade, since childhood, it was naturally a tough time for the young talent.

"Getting released from City was a big step for me," he told Sky Sports in 2018. "To go and find a new club, I think it basically teaches you that you don't want that feeling again, obviously the devastation at the time."

But he didn’t let that knock him completely; he was willing to do whatever necessary to get to where he wanted to go.

Sheffield United took a gamble on David Brooks

Then a League One side, the Blades decided to take a chance on Brooks to see if City had missed his true potential, but even as a third-tier outfit, they were uncertain.

"Great awareness, good technique, good decision-making, composure on the ball. Those were the things that sprang out straight away," revealed then-Sheffield United academy manager Nick Cox in a 2018 interview with Sky Sports.

"The questions we had were around his physicality. He was two or three years behind in terms of his physical development. His shirt was hanging off him, his shorts were below his knees. He looked like a little boy. His ability to compete with boys of the same age was seriously impaired."

Having found his feet in the Blades’ academy, and gone out on loan to places like Halifax in the lower stretches of English pyramid to gain senior experience, in which he excelled.

They had verbally agreed another loan deal with Chesterfield, but seeing him for an England youth side in the 2017 Toulon Tournament, they decided he was ready for their own first team.

Despite missing a chunk of the season with glandular fever, he impressed immensely, netting three goals and providing five assists – the Blades now in the Championship at this stage ­– despite only just having left his teenage years.

Suffering and coming back from those setbacks would later prepare Brooks for the biggest of his life; being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer, in October 2021, which he made a complete recovery from over 18 months, before returning to the pitch.

Sheffield United were rewarded for their faith

The work of the Blades, especially Cox and academy coach Travis Binnion, all proved worthwhile not long after Brooks broke into the first team at Bramall Lane.

After just one season there, he attracted interest from Bournemouth, who forked out a remarkable £10m for his services, which had the potential to rise to £11.5m.

Given he’s gone on to make over 150 appearances for the Cherries, closing in on almost 100 Premier League outings with the south-coast side, it would be surprising if he had not met whatever bonus conditions were added into that deal.

Brooks’ story should be an inspiration for other young players, showing that just because it doesn’t quite happen the first time, doesn’t mean you can’t get where you want to be with enough determination.

It is also a lesson from the Blades to other clubs, that with enough patience and focus on a talented youngster, who perhaps has not yet reached his full potential, huge rewards could be on the table.