Tyrese Campbell reveals what Chris Wilder said that made him want to sign for Sheffield United | OneFootball

Sheffield United forward Tyrese Campbell has admitted what manager Chris Wilder said to persuade him to join the Blades.

Sheffield United forward Tyrese Campbell has spoken publicly about the conversation that he had with manager Chris Wilder that persuaded him to join the Blades in the summer of 2024.

Campbell was released by former club, Stoke City, at the end of the 2023/24 season, and he told the BBC’s 72+ EFL podcast that he had "a lot of offers on the table" following the Potters' decision to release him after eight years with the club.

Campbell's productive conversation with Chris Wilder

Despite having racked up almost 150 League appearances for Stoke, he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Bet365 Stadium at the end of the 2023/24 season. But it was one thing that the Sheffield United manager, Wilder, said which persuaded Campbell to opt for Bramall Lane from the offers that he received.

Campbell told the BBC: "He sort of said to me that we had both been ridiculed and written off in our careers, and he wanted to help me get to where he knew I could be, and he wanted to be the manager that does it for me."

Campbell didn't flourish as he should have with Stoke

Son of former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell, Tyrese started his career with the Manchester City Academy, but turned down an offer from them to turn professional in the summer of 2016 in order to move to Stoke City with a fee agreed at £1.75m. He made his debut for them in a Premier League match against Leicester City in February 2018.

But Stoke were relegated from the Premier League at the end of that season and have repeatedly stalled in their efforts to get back. He spent half of the 2018/19 season on loan at Shrewsbury Town after moving there in the January transfer window, and the five goals he scored while away were enough to give him a chance the following season back at Stoke.

2019/20 was his best season with Stoke, but injuries halted his progression towards being one of the Championship's best strikers and a lack of football followed in the lead up to his release.

Campbell has had a renaissance in South Yorkshire

Campbell has gone on to have the most fruitful season in front of goal of his career so far since the move to Sheffield, hitting 10 goals in 33 League games as the Blades chased promotion back to the Premier League. That figure beat his previous best of nine, which he managed in the 2019/20 and 2022/23 seasons. Sheffield United ended up in third place in the Championship behind the runaway top two of Leeds United and Burnley, with a place in the play-offs to look forward to.

Meanwhile, Stoke continued to struggle throughout the 2024/25 season, much as they had for a lot of the time that Campbell was playing for them. With a return to the Premier League more than seven years after he made his full debut, there is still a possibility through the play-offs, and it's doubtful that he has any regrets over the wisdom of his decision to move to Bramall Lane.