The Blades missed out on the talismanic frontman when he joined Yorkshire rivals Hull City back in early August
Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis has continued the discussion around the Blades’ failed attempts to sign Oli McBurnie during the summer.
Bettis admits that he feels McBurnie was ‘the one that got away’ after he opted to join Hull City following his exit from Las Palmas in Spain.
His comments come after returning Bramall Lane boss Chris Wilder made clear his frustration, prior to their 1-0 defeat at the MKM Stadium earlier this month, that United did not sign McBurnie when he became available on a free transfer following Las Palmas’ relegation from La Liga.
The Blades executive went on to say that he personally offered McBurnie the chance to train at Shirecliffe in the summer to maintain his fitness after returning from the Canary Islands, but later withdrew that offer when Ruben Selles made it clear he didn’t want to sign the 29-year-old forward, despite selling Kieffer Moore to Wrexham.
McBurnie then went to Barnsley to keep up his fitness during pre-season before finally clinching his move to City, which has been a roaring success with him delivering another impactful performance on Saturday to help the Tigers win 3-2 at Birmingham City, and though he’s now struggling with a knee injury which forced him out of the win over Leicester City, his impact has been stark.
The fallout from United’s disappointing summer recruitment has continued, especially after a disastrous start to the season, which saw ex-City boss Selles sacked after six defeats in his opening six games before Wilder’s return.
“I mean, personally, and this is a personal opinion, it is for me (the one that got away). Obviously, I have a very good relationship with Oli, always have, and we still stay in contact now, he texted me at the weekend, actually,” Bettis said speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield.
“Oli came to me in the summer, he was without a club cos he’d come back from Gran Canaria, and he asked to train with us, which I was very happy for him to do at the time when he didn’t have a club.
“I spoke to Ruben at the time about it, and Ruben didn’t want to do it. I wasn’t gonna force Ruben to do it cos I don’t think that’s right to force him to have players training with us that he didn’t want, so I had to say to Oli that we couldn’t do it.
“I think he went to Barnsley and trained with them. Yeah, we did express interest in signing him, following selling Kiefer Moore, cos I thought he would be a good replacement in that respect, but I think at the time Oli chose to go elsewhere.
“Maybe, Ruben not wanting him to train, etc. Maybe Oli thinking he wouldn’t be first choice for Ruben influenced that, I can’t say for sure cos I’ve not had that conversation with him, but for me I think Oli is a player that would have done a good job for us this season.”
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