Sheffield United & Leicester City dodged transfer bullet - Charlton Athletic, QPR couldn’t avoid it | OneFootball

Macauley Bonne's failed move to Sheffield United and Leicester City proved a blessing in disguise, but QPR and Charlton failed to dodge it.

Back in the summer of 2019, both Sheffield United and Leicester City were looking to add reinforcements to their squad ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Sheffield United won promotion into the top-flight in the 2018/19 season, with Billy Sharp at the heart of their success, with the forward netting 23 league goals.

Whilst Leicester City finished ninth in the Premier League in the 2018/19 campaign, and would have been keen to force themselves into the European qualification places in the following season.

The Foxes already had some strong attacking options in their first-team squad, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Ayoze Perez, and Kelechi Iheanacho being available to manager, Brendan Rodgers. Vardy, in particular, had shown his impressive goalscoring ability up the English football pyramid, as the former Fleetwood Town man scored 18 league goals for Leicester in the 2018/19 season.

However, both Sheffield United and Leicester City clearly thought that a then non-league striker was worth the punt before the 2019/20 league campaign got underway, although in hindsight, both clubs will be pleased to have missed out on an agreement for the player in question.

Transfer interest in Macauley Bonne

Macauley Bonne caught the eye of Sheffield United and Leicester City whilst with Leyton Orient, and that transfer interest was justified, as the forward excelled in front of goal for the O's.

The striker netted 45 goals in 91 appearances for Leyton Orient whilst they were playing their football in the National League.

However, for one reason or another, a move to Sheffield United and Leicester City failed to materialise, as Bonne made the move to Charlton Athletic, on a three-year deal at the Valley.

Sheffield United went on to sign Oli McBurnie from Swansea City in a multi-million pound deal, with the former Swans man going on to score some important goals for the Blades.

Bonne's move to Charlton wasn't what he would have originally hoped for, as he found himself behind Tomer Hemed, Jonathan Leko, and Lyle Taylor in the pecking order, which saw him deployed as a right-winger when featuring in their squad.

Bonne scored 14 goals in 56 appearances for Charlton - a respectable record for a player who had previously played in a division higher than League One before his move to the Championship with the Addicks.

Bonne then dropped down the football pyramid

After just over a year with Charlton, Bonne made the short trip across London to QPR, which was an unsuccessful spell with the Hoops, netting just three goals in 44 appearances for the club.

His struggles in front of goal saw him return to Charlton three years later, but Bonne found it tough to replicate the sort of form that saw him earn a move to QPR originally.

After just a year with Charlton in his second spell with the club, he was released upon the expiration of his contract, before heading to Gillingham, who were playing in League Two at the time.

Bonne then made the move to Cambridge United on loan from Gillingham, but scored just once in 16 appearances for them, in what was a loan spell to forget for the striker.

The 30-year-old spent a season with Southend United in the 2024/25 season, and scored five goals in 44 appearances in the fifth-tier of English football.

It hasn't got much better since that spell with Southend, as Bonne is currently playing for Billericay Town, which comes after a short spell with Maldon & Tiptree.

Bonne only joined Billericay Town in February 2026, and the days of playing in the Championship will feel like a distant memory for the forward.

Sheffield United and Leicester City certainly won't be regretting missing out on signing Bonne back in 2019. His level has dropped since catching the eye with Leyton Orient early into his professional career, and he's fallen short of the Premier League standard both were playing at.

It's even a deal that the likes of Charlton Athletic and QPR will regret completing, as the striker simply didn't live up to the original hype around his arrival.