Billy Sharp is excelling for Sheffield United two years after quitting Elland Road.
Leeds’ Billy Sharp celebrates scoring their first goal with Alex Mowatt
With Chris Wood on fire for Leeds United at the moment, they are not missing goals – but what if they had two freescoring front men?
For a very brief moment they did, back in 2015 after Wood was signed, before they decided to sell Billy Sharp to Sheffield United.
Sharp had just one season at Elland Road, and did not show his best, but was not helped by being played irregularly and at times out of position in a tumultuous 2014/15 campaign which saw him play under three different managers.
Sharp scored only five goals for Leeds, but has enjoyed huge success since leaving the club.
He has netted 45 goals in total, 21 in his first season and now 24 this campaign.
Sharp is the top goalscorer in League One, averaging a strike every 97 minutes, and is in a great position to break the 30 goal barrier.
The striker had pushed for a return to his home town club in 2015 after learning of their approach, and Leeds were content to let him leave.
Sharp is not the type of character to sit happily on the bench and instead demanded game time, with Leeds preferring other options.
One of their mistakes was backing Mirco Antenucci in the pecking order instead, who ended up being released last summer.
Had he remained at Leeds, Sharp would have been third choice at best, but if they decided to let him compete for a first team spot with Chris Wood, perhaps they would be experiencing the benefit of his eye for goal now instead of the Blades.
Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp celebrates scoring their second goal
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