2023–24 Sheffield United F.C. season

Sheffield United
2023–24 season
Owner	Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud
Chairman	Yusuf Giansiracusa
Manager	Paul Heckingbottom; (until 5 December); Chris Wilder; (from 5 December)
Stadium	Bramall Lane
Premier League	20th (relegated)
FA Cup	Fourth round
EFL Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Ben Brereton Díaz; Oli McBurnie; (6 each); All: ; Ben Brereton Díaz; Oli McBurnie; (6 each)
Highest home attendance	31,336 (vs Manchester City, 27 August 2023)
Lowest home attendance	11,040 (vs Lincoln City, 30 August 2023)
Biggest win	4–0 vs Gillingham (away); (6 January 2024)
Biggest defeat	0–8 vs Newcastle United (home); (24 September 2023)
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season was the 135th season in the history of Sheffield United and their first season in the Premier League since the 2020–21 season following their promotion from the Championship in the previous season. The club also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.

Following a 4–2 loss to Manchester United on 24 April, Sheffield United broke the record of 89 goals conceded in a 38-game Premier League season set by Derby County in the 2007–08 season.^[2]^[3] Three days later, the club were officially relegated back to the Championship following a 5–1 defeat away to Newcastle United. This defeat left the Blades on 16 points, 10 fewer than 17th-placed Nottingham Forest with only three matches remaining.^[4]

On 4 May, following a 3–1 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, the club equaled Swindon Town's record of most goals conceded in the Premier League in 1993–94, with 100.^[5] A week later, on 11 May, they surpassed the previous record with a 1–0 away defeat against Everton.^[6]

On the final matchday of the season, Sheffield United suffered a 3–0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, setting a new record of 104 goals conceded. This also resulted in a goal difference of –69, matching Derby County's negative record from the aforementioned 2007–08 season.^[7] Additionally, they set new records for goals conceded at home with 57, surpassing Aston Villa's record from the 1935–36 season, and recorded a home goal difference of –38.^[8]

Squad

As of 18 February 2024

No.	Player	Position	Place of birth	Date of birth (age)	Previous club	Date signed	Fee	Contract end
Goalkeepers
1	Adam Davies	GK	Rinteln	(1992-07-17) 17 July 1992 (age 32)	Stoke City	25 January 2022	£300,000	30 June 2024
13	Ivo Grbić	GK	Split	(1996-01-18) 18 January 1996 (age 28)	Atlético Madrid	26 January 2024	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
18	Wes Foderingham	GK	Hammersmith	(1991-01-14) 14 January 1991 (age 33)	Rangers	27 July 2020	Free	30 June 2024
37	Jordan Amissah	GK	Herne	(2001-08-02) 2 August 2001 (age 23)	Borussia Dortmund	4 July 2018	Free	30 June 2024
Defenders
2	George Baldock	RB	Buckingham	(1993-03-09) 9 March 1993 (age 31)	Milton Keynes Dons	1 July 2017	£740,000	30 June 2024
3	Max Lowe	LB	South Normanton	(1997-05-11) 11 May 1997 (age 27)	Derby County	7 September 2020	£3,850,000	30 June 2024
5	Auston Trusty	CB	Media	(1998-08-12) 12 August 1998 (age 26)	Arsenal	3 August 2023	£5,000,000	30 June 2027
6	Chris Basham	CB	Hebburn	(1988-07-20) 20 July 1988 (age 36)	Blackpool	1 July 2014	Free	30 June 2024
12	John Egan	CB	Cork	(1992-10-20) 20 October 1992 (age 32)	Brentford	19 July 2018	£4,500,000	30 June 2024
15	Anel Ahmedhodžić	CB	Malmö	(1999-03-26) 26 March 1999 (age 25)	Malmö FF	6 July 2022	£4,500,000	30 June 2026
19	Jack Robinson	LB	Warrington	(1993-09-01) 1 September 1993 (age 31)	Nottingham Forest	21 January 2020	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
20	Jayden Bogle	RB	Reading	(2000-07-27) 27 July 2000 (age 24)	Derby County	7 September 2020	£3,850,000	30 June 2024
27	Yasser Larouci	LB	El Oued	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	Troyes	17 July 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
29	Sam Curtis	RB	Navan	(2005-12-01) 1 December 2005 (age 18)	St Patrick's Athletic	25 January 2024	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
30	Mason Holgate	CB	Doncaster	(1996-10-22) 22 October 1996 (age 27)	Everton	1 February 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
33	Rhys Norrington-Davies	LB	Riyadh	(1999-04-22) 22 April 1999 (age 25)	Swansea City	1 July 2017	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
Midfielders
8	Gustavo Hamer	CM	Itajai	(1997-06-24) 24 June 1997 (age 27)	Coventry City	12 August 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
16	Oliver Norwood	CM	Burnley	(1991-04-12) 12 April 1991 (age 33)	Brighton & Hove Albion	4 January 2019	£2,000,000	30 June 2024
21	Vinícius Souza	DM	Rio de Janeiro	(1999-06-17) 17 June 1999 (age 25)	Lommel	9 August 2023	£10,300,000	30 June 2027
22	Tom Davies	CM	Liverpool	(1998-06-30) 30 June 1998 (age 26)	Everton	16 August 2023	Free	30 June 2026
23	Ben Osborn	LM	Derby	(1994-08-05) 5 August 1994 (age 30)	Nottingham Forest	26 July 2019	£3,500,000	30 June 2024
24	Ollie Arblaster	CM	Sheffield	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20)	Academy	1 July 2021	Trainee	30 June 2024
25	Anis Ben Slimane	CM	Copenhagen	(2001-03-16) 16 March 2001 (age 23)	Brøndby	13 July 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2026
28	James McAtee	CM	Salford	(2002-10-18) 18 October 2002 (age 22)	Manchester City	1 September 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
35	Andre Brooks	LM	Sheffield	(2003-08-20) 20 August 2003 (age 21)	Academy	1 July 2021	Trainee	30 June 2027
43	Evan Easton	DM		(2005-01-14) 14 January 2005 (age 19)	Celtic	11 September 2023	Free	30 June 2025
Forwards
7	Rhian Brewster	CF	Chadwell Heath	(2000-04-01) 1 April 2000 (age 24)	Liverpool	2 October 2020	£26,000,000	30 June 2025
9	Oliver McBurnie	CF	Leeds	(1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 28)	Swansea City	2 August 2019	£17,500,000	30 June 2024
10	Cameron Archer	CF	Walsall	(2001-12-09) 9 December 2001 (age 22)	Aston Villa	27 August 2023	£18,500,000	30 June 2027
11	Ben Brereton Díaz	LW	Stoke-on-Trent	(1999-04-18) 18 April 1999 (age 25)	Villarreal	5 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
32	William Osula	CF	Aarhus	(2003-08-04) 4 August 2003 (age 21)	Academy	1 July 2021	Trainee	30 June 2027
34	Louie Marsh	SS	Sheffield	(2003-10-16) 16 October 2003 (age 21)	Academy	1 July 2022	Trainee	30 June 2026
36	Daniel Jebbison	CF	Oakville	(2003-07-11) 11 July 2003 (age 21)	Academy	1 July 2021	Trainee	30 June 2024
45	Billy Blacker	LW		(2006-05-25) 25 May 2006 (age 18)	Academy	18 February 2024	Trainee	30 June 2024
Out on Loan
11	Bénie Traoré	CF	Ouragahio	(2002-11-30) 30 November 2002 (age 21)	BK Häcken	18 July 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
17	Ismaila Coulibaly	CM		(2000-12-25) 25 December 2000 (age 23)	Sarpsborg 08	8 September 2020	£1,750,000	30 June 2024
38	Femi Seriki	RB	Manchester	(2002-04-28) 28 April 2002 (age 22)	Bury	24 September 2019	Undisclosed	30 June 2027
39	Antwoine Hackford	CF	Arbourthorne	(2004-03-20) 20 March 2004 (age 20)	Academy	1 July 2021	Trainee	30 June 2026
40	Jili Buyabu	LB	Enfield	(2003-08-09) 9 August 2003 (age 21)	Hornchurch	21 December 2021	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
—	Sai Sachdev	RB	Leicester	(2004-10-23) 23 October 2004 (age 19)	Academy	1 July 2022	Trainee	30 June 2024

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

Updated 4 May 2024

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		EFL Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	WAL	Adam Davies	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
13	GK	CRO	Ivo Grbić	10	0	9	0	1	0	0	0
18	GK	ENG	Wes Foderingham	29	0	27+1	0	1	0	0	0
37	GK	GER	Jordan Amissah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	GRE	George Baldock	13	0	11+2	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	ENG	Max Lowe	8	0	3+5	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	USA	Auston Trusty	34	0	28+4	0	1	0	1	0
6	DF	ENG	Chris Basham	9	0	3+5	0	0	0	1	0
12	DF	IRL	John Egan	7	0	6	0	0	0	1	0
15	DF	BIH	Anel Ahmedhodžić	31	2	28+2	2	1	0	0	0
19	DF	ENG	Jack Robinson	33	1	30+2	1	1	0	0	0
20	DF	ENG	Jayden Bogle	34	3	30+2	3	1	0	1	0
27	DF	FRA	Yasser Larouci	11	0	4+5	0	0+1	0	1	0
29	DF	IRL	Sam Curtis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF	ENG	Mason Holgate	9	0	9	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF	WAL	Rhys Norrington-Davies	7	0	2+3	0	2	0	0	0
40	DF	ENG	Jili Buyabu	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
Midfielders
8	MF	NED	Gustavo Hamer	36	5	32+2	4	2	1	0	0
16	MF	NIR	Oliver Norwood	30	1	16+11	1	2	0	1	0
21	MF	BRA	Vinícius Souza	36	1	28+6	1	0+2	0	0	0
22	MF	ENG	Tom Davies	9	0	2+7	0	0	0	0	0
23	MF	ENG	Ben Osborn	25	0	13+10	0	1+1	0	0	0
25	MF	TUN	Anis Slimane	14	0	4+10	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	ENG	James McAtee	32	5	20+10	3	1+1	2	0	0
24	MF	ENG	Oliver Arblaster	10	0	9+1	0	0	0	0	0
35	MF	ENG	Andre Brooks	21	0	11+7	0	1+1	0	1	0
42	MF	ENG	Sydie Peck	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
7	FW	ENG	Rhian Brewster	12	0	3+8	0	0+1	0	0	0
9	FW	SCO	Oli McBurnie	23	6	15+6	6	0+1	0	1	0
10	FW	ENG	Cameron Archer	30	4	19+8	4	2	0	1	0
11	FW	CHI	Ben Brereton Díaz	14	6	12	6	1+1	0	0	0
32	FW	DEN	William Osula	24	3	9+12	0	2	3	0+1	0
39	FW	ENG	Antwoine Hackford	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
Player(s) out on loan:
11	FW	CIV	Bénie Traoré	8	0	3+4	0	0	0	0+1	0
17	MF	MLI	Ismaila Coulibaly	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	FW	ENG	Louie Marsh	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
39	DF	ENG	Sai Sachdev	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left the club:
4	MF	SCO	John Fleck	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	ENG	Luke Thomas	13	0	11+1	0	1	0	0	0

Goals

As of 4 May 2024

Rank	No.	Pos.	Player	Premier League	FA Cup	Total
1	9	FW	Oli McBurnie	6	0	6
1	11	FW	Ben Brereton Díaz	6	0	6
2	8	MF	Gustavo Hamer	4	1	5
2	28	MF	James McAtee	3	2	5
3	10	FW	Cameron Archer	4	0	4
4	20	DF	Jayden Bogle	3	0	3
4	32	FW	William Osula	0	3	3
5	15	DF	Anel Ahmedhodžić	2	0	2
6	16	MF	Oliver Norwood	1	0	1
	21	MF	Vinícius Souza	1	0	1
	19	DF	Jack Robinson	1	0	1
Own goals				4	0	4
Totals				35	6	41

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Ref.
13 July 2023	CM	Anis Slimane	Brøndby	Undisclosed	^[9]
18 July 2023	CF	Bénie Traoré	BK Häcken	Undisclosed	^[10]
3 August 2023	CB	Auston Trusty	Arsenal	Undisclosed	^[11]
9 August 2023	DM	Vinícius Souza	Lommel	Undisclosed	^[12]
12 August 2023	CM	Gustavo Hamer	Coventry City	Undisclosed	^[13]
16 August 2023	CM	Tom Davies	Everton	Free transfer	^[14]
27 August 2023	CF	Cameron Archer	Aston Villa	Undisclosed	^[15]
2 September 2023	CF	Ryan Oné †	Hamilton Academical	Undisclosed	^[16]
11 September 2023	DM	Evan Easton †	Celtic	Free transfer	^[17]
11 September 2023	CM	Jay Tinsdale †	Bradford City	Free transfer	^[17]
25 January 2024	RB	Sam Curtis	St Patrick's Athletic	Undisclosed	^[18]
26 January 2024	GK	Ivo Grbić	Atlético Madrid	Undisclosed	^[19]

† Signed initially for the development squad

Out

Date	Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Ref.
14 June 2023	CM	George Broadbent	Doncaster Rovers	Undisclosed	^[20]
30 June 2023	LB	Tom Angell	Basford United	Released	^[21]^[22]
30 June 2023	AM	Hassan Ayari	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	CB	Jean Belehouan	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	CB	Kyron Gordon	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	GK	Henry Hampshaw	Stocksbridge Park Steels	Released	^[21]^[23]
30 June 2023	GK	Callum Hiddleston	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	CB	Jack O'Connell	Retired	Retired	^[21]
30 June 2023	CF	Johnny Oluleye	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	CF	Billy Sharp	LA Galaxy	Released	^[21]^[24]
30 June 2023	CB	Joe Starbuck	Free agent	Released	^[21]
30 June 2023	LB	Enda Stevens	Stoke City	Released	^[21]^[25]
30 June 2023	CB	Luther Williams	Free agent	Released	^[21]
2 July 2023	RM	Theo Williams	Fleetwood Town	Free transfer	^[26]
4 July 2023	GK	Jake Eastwood	Grimsby Town	Undisclosed	^[27]
4 July 2023	CM	Zak Brunt	Barnet	Undisclosed	^[28]
1 August 2023	CF	Iliman Ndiaye	Marseille	Undisclosed	^[29]
9 August 2023	DM	Sander Berge	Burnley	Undisclosed	^[30]
17 November 2023	GK	Marcus Dewhurst	Wealdstone	Free Transfer	^[31]
4 January 2024	CM	Harrison Neal	Carlisle United	Undisclosed	^[32]
1 February 2024	CM	John Fleck	Blackburn Rovers	Free Transfer	^[33]
1 February 2024	CB	Finley Potter	Fleetwood Town	Undisclosed	^[34]
23 February 2024	CB	Nicksoen Gomis	Toronto	Undisclosed	^[35]

Loaned in

Date	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Until	Ref.
17 July 2023	LB	Yasser Larouci	Troyes	End of season	^[36]
31 August 2023	LB	Luke Thomas	Leicester City	12 January 2024^[a]	^[37]^[38]
1 September 2023	CM	James McAtee	Manchester City	End of season	^[39]
5 January 2024	LW	Ben Brereton Díaz	Villarreal	End of season	^[40]
1 February 2024	CB	Mason Holgate	Everton	End of season	^[41]

^ On 12 January, Thomas returned to Leicester early from his season-long loan.

Loaned out

Date	Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Until	Ref.
13 July 2023	LB	Harry Boyes	Wycombe Wanderers	12 January 2024^[a]	^[42]^[43]
17 July 2023	CM	Oliver Arblaster	Port Vale	29 December 2023^[b]	^[44]^[45]
17 July 2023	CB	Finley Potter	Barnet	1 February 2024^[c]	^[46]^[34]
17 July 2023	GK	Dylan Wharton	Gainsborough Trinity	End of season	^[47]
14 August 2023	CM	Harrison Neal	Stevenage	3 January 2024^[d]	^[48]^[49]
18 August 2023	CM	Frankie Maguire	Chester	2 January 2024	^[50]
1 September 2023	SS	Louie Marsh	Doncaster Rovers	10 January 2024^[e]	^[51]^[52]
4 January 2024	CF	Bénie Traoré	Nantes	End of season	^[53]
12 January 2024	LB	Harry Boyes	Fleetwood Town	End of Season	^[54]
15 January 2024	RB	Sai Sachdev	Oldham Athletic	End of Season	^[55]
18 January 2024	CM	Frankie Maguire	Chorley	End of season	^[56]
1 February 2024	LB	Jili Buyabu	Motherwell	End of Season	^[57]
1 February 2024	CF	Antwoine Hackford	Burton Albion	End of season	^[58]
1 February 2024	RB	Femi Seriki	Rotherham United	End of Season	^[59]
2 February 2024	CM	Ismaila Coulibaly	AIK	End of season	^[60]

^ On 12 January, Boyes returned back early from his loan at Wycombe.
^ On 29 December, Arblaster was recalled back early from his loan at Port Vale.
^ On 1 February, Potter was recalled early from his loan at Barnet and subsequently signed for Fleetwood.
^ On 3 January, Neal returned back early from his season-long loan at Stevenage.
^ On 10 January, Marsh returned back early from his season-long loan at Doncaster.

Pre-season and friendlies

On 1 June, Sheffield United announced three pre-season friendlies, against Chesterfield, Rotherham United and Derby County along with a training camp in Europe.^[61] A home friendly against VfB Stuttgart was later confirmed.^[62] Also revealed was a behind-closed-doors fixture versus Girona.^[63] On 7 July, a sixth and final friendly was announced, against Estoril.^[64]

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

15 July 2023 Friendly	Chesterfield	0–2	Sheffield United	Chesterfield
15:00 BST		Report	Ndiaye 52' Osborn 59'	Stadium: Technique Stadium Attendance: 9,476

19 July 2023 Friendly	Estoril	0–0	Sheffield United	Alcabideche, Portugal
19:30 WEST 19:30 BST		Report		Stadium: Estádio António Coimbra da Mota

25 July 2023 Friendly	Rotherham United	1–0	Sheffield United	Rotherham
19:00 BST	Trialist 12'	Report		Stadium: AESSEAL New York Stadium

26 July 2023 Friendly	Sheffield United	0–2	Girona	Manchester
13:00 BST		Report	Sávio 74' Torre 90+3'	Stadium: Academy Stadium Attendance: 0

29 July 2023 Friendly	Derby County	1–3	Sheffield United	Derby
15:00 BST	Smith 58'	Report	Ben Slimane 18' Baldock 82' Ndiaye 84'	Stadium: Pride Park Stadium

5 August 2023 Friendly	Sheffield United	0–3	VfB Stuttgart	Sheffield
13:00 BST		Report	Guirassy 9', 14', 59'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 10,732

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Premier League	12 August 2023	19 May 2024	Matchday 1	20th	38	3	7	28	35	104	−69	007.89
FA Cup	6 January 2024	27 January 2024	Third round	Fourth round	2	1	0	1	6	5	+1	050.00
EFL Cup	30 August 2023		Second round	Second round	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Total					41	4	8	29	41	109	−68	009.76

Source: Soccerway

Premier League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
16	Brentford	38	10	9	19	56	65	−9	39
17	Nottingham Forest	38	9	9	20	49	67	−18	32^[a]
18	Luton Town (R)	38	6	8	24	52	85	−33	26	Relegation to EFL Championship
19	Burnley (R)	38	5	9	24	41	78	−37	24
20	Sheffield United (R)	38	3	7	28	35	104	−69	16

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs^[68]
(R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Nottingham Forest were deducted four points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. The club appealed the decision but were unsuccessful.^[65]^[66]^[67]

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	3	7	28	35	104	−69	16	2	4	13	19	57	−38	1	3	15	16	47	−31