Left for £0: Sheffield United's "genius" is now outscoring Cannon & Hamer

Sheffield United have had their fair share of goalscoring heroes over recent years whilst the Blades have seesawed between the Premier League and the Championship.

The first obvious name that springs to mind here is Billy Sharp, who boasts an unbelievable goalscoring record of 129 strikes over a bumper 377 games, immortalising himself as modern-day great for sure at Bramall Lane.

A couple of players in Chris Wilder‘s current camp will be hoping they go down as icons in a similar vain if promotion is reached, with Tom Cannon one star that could explode into life in South Yorkshire having already shown off his goalscoring prowess in the second tier away from his new employers.

Sheffield United’s key performers

Cannon has already set the second tier alight this season with former loan side Stoke City, with the EFL sharp shooter scoring 11 times from 25 games for the Potters before embarking on a new journey with Wilder’s men.

He has already left his mark on proceedings too, with his fantastic link-up play with fellow new attacker Ben Brereton Diaz resulting in the deadlock being broken at Derby County last time out, handing the promotion hopefuls a slim 1-0 win subsequently.

Away from these flashy new buys, there is also Gustavo Hamer who Wilder will know he can rely on to deliver the goods in tense games near the top of the tight division, with the ex-Coventry City ace a man possessed down the left flank.

Often lining up as a central midfield option in the Premier League, this little tweak to get more out of the 27-year-old’s attacking game has worked visible wonders, considering he has a sterling 11 goal contributions to shout about in league action – including six goals.

But, even as the United boss proudly looks at what he has at his disposal, there is a former ace who is outscoring both Hamer and Cannon at this moment in time who left in 2022 for nothing.

The former ace outscoring Cannon & Hamer

It wasn’t as if the player in question left with any bad blood attached, with his contract simply winding down to its conclusion after many positive years in South Yorkshire.

Indeed, David McGoldrick would regularly get fans out of their seats at Bramall Lane as an enthralling forward player to watch, resulting in The Blades Ramble YouTube channel even declaring him as a “genius” on the ball when looking back at his standout spell.

He would back up these magical touches with some clinical displays in front of goal too, with McGoldrick really coming into his own during Wilder’s first stint in charge of the Blades.

McGoldrick’s most prolific season donning United red and white came during the club’s memorable 2018/19 campaign, as the well-travelled attacker would end up bagging a lethal 15 league strikes from 45 games.

That respectable tally more than helped his entertaining side clinch that second automatic promotion spot at the expense of nearby rivals Leeds United.

McGoldrick’s career numbers after leaving United
Season	Club played for	Games played	Goals scored
24/25	Notts County	26	13
23/24	Notts County	39	13
22/23	Derby County	45	25
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst the post-Wilder era in South Yorkshire would see the 37-year-old’s time at the club fizzle out, he hasn’t gone through any notable dry patches in front of goal since walking away, with his golden season right now in League Two more than sticking out.

Amazingly, McGoldrick – despite being deep into the twilight years of his esteemed playing days – has 13 strikes to brag about during 2024/25 to date, beating Cannon’s goal total by two in the process and also further bettering Hamer’s electric output.

It’s not as if all of his goals have been simple tap-ins either, with this audacious chip versus Gillingham at the start of the month showing off his confidence.

Whilst McGoldrick aims to steer his hometown club up to League One, Wilder knows exactly what his own mission is with plenty of crunch games to come in United’s ongoing promotion battle.