# 2024–25 Sheffield United F.C. season
The 2024–25 [Sheffield United F.C.](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheffield-united-f-c) season was the club's campaign in the [EFL Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/efl-championship), the second tier of English football, following relegation from the Premier League the previous season. Under manager [Chris Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-wilder), United finished third with 90 points, reached the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, and lost 1–2 to Sunderland on 24 May 2025, missing an immediate return to the Premier League.[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/history/Sheffield-United-Stats-and-History) • [2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [3](https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/football/championship/sheffield-united/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| League position | 3rd of 24 in the Championship: 46 played, 28 won, 8 drawn, 10 lost, 63 goals for, 36 against, 90 points (after a 2-point deduction)[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/history/Sheffield-United-Stats-and-History) • [4](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2025.html) |
| Manager | Chris Wilder[3](https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/football/championship/sheffield-united/) |
| Play-offs | Beat Bristol City 6–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals; lost the final 1–2 to Sunderland at Wembley[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [5](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/billy-sharp-exclusive-i-still-love-sheffield-united-but-ive-never-seen-the-club-score-a-goal-in-a-play-off-final-i-hope-its-promotion-this-time-and-my-kids-dont-have-to-experience-what-i-did) |
| Cups | EFL Cup: beat Wrexham 4–2, then lost 1–0 at Barnsley in the second round; FA Cup: lost 0–1 at home to Cardiff City in the third round[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) |
| Leading figures | Top league scorer Tyrese Campbell (10 goals); first-choice goalkeeper Michael Cooper[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/history/Sheffield-United-Stats-and-History) |
| Attendance | Average league attendance of 32,838 at Bramall Lane[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/history/Sheffield-United-Stats-and-History) |
| Transfers | Income €47.25m against expenditure of €22.14m, a net balance of +€25.12m; the largest incoming fee was €11.85m for Tom Cannon from Leicester City[6](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sheffield-united/transfers/verein/350/saison_id/2024/pos//detailpos/0/w_s//plus/1) |
## Background
United entered the season after relegation from the Premier League, where they had finished with 16 points and conceded a Premier League record 104 goals in 2023–24.[5](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/billy-sharp-exclusive-i-still-love-sheffield-united-but-ive-never-seen-the-club-score-a-goal-in-a-play-off-final-i-hope-its-promotion-this-time-and-my-kids-dont-have-to-experience-what-i-did) The club's accounts describe the 2024/25 season as a bittersweet return to the EFL, with the ownership funding a promotion push rather than cutting back after relegation.[7](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/gc-media-assets.gc.sheffieldunited.co.uk/d6dd3470-2c46-11f1-953c-15caba6ef04b.pdf)
## League season
The Championship season ran from 9 August 2024 to 3 May 2025.[8](https://candbco.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/a954f2c8-7191-4b34-80da-ba5b4b0d2c95.pdf) United opened with a 2–0 win at Preston North End on 9 August and beat Wrexham 4–2 in the League Cup three days later.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) Through the autumn the team put together a strong run, including a 1–0 derby win over Sheffield Wednesday on 10 November and a 1–0 home win over [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland) on 29 November.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/)
**A late collapse cost automatic promotion.** Three straight defeats by Oxford United, Millwall, and Plymouth Argyle during the run-in saw United give up a five-point lead and fall to third, and Burnley secured promotion with a 2–1 win over the Blades at [Turf Moor](https://www.edgepedia.org/turf-moor) on 21 April.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c79el4n727qo) United closed the regular season with a 1–1 home draw against Blackburn Rovers on 3 May, finishing on 90 points, 14 clear of fourth-placed Sunderland.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [10](https://theanalyst.com/articles/sheffield-united-vs-sunderland-championship-play-off-final-preview) Leeds United won the title with 100 points and Burnley took the second automatic place.[4](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2025.html)
## Play-offs
United faced sixth-placed Bristol City in the semi-finals and won both legs, 3–0 away on 8 May and 3–0 at home on 12 May, a 6–0 aggregate score.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [5](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/billy-sharp-exclusive-i-still-love-sheffield-united-but-ive-never-seen-the-club-score-a-goal-in-a-play-off-final-i-hope-its-promotion-this-time-and-my-kids-dont-have-to-experience-what-i-did) The 14-point gap to Sunderland was the largest between two [English Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-football-league) play-off finalists in the current format, in place since 1988–89.[10](https://theanalyst.com/articles/sheffield-united-vs-sunderland-championship-play-off-final-preview)
In the final at Wembley on 24 May 2025, Sunderland won 2–1. Harrison Burrows had a goal ruled out following an offside check by VAR, and in a Championship play-off final this marked the debut of an announcement over the ground's public address system in which the referee gave the reason for such a ruling.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [11](https://vitalfootball.co.uk/2024-25-sheffield-united-season-review/) The defeat extended a poor Wembley record: United had not won any of their previous seven matches at the stadium, with their most recent win there the 1925 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) final against Cardiff City, and they had never won the play-offs in nine previous campaigns, failing to score in the four finals they had previously reached.[10](https://theanalyst.com/articles/sheffield-united-vs-sunderland-championship-play-off-final-preview) • [5](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/billy-sharp-exclusive-i-still-love-sheffield-united-but-ive-never-seen-the-club-score-a-goal-in-a-play-off-final-i-hope-its-promotion-this-time-and-my-kids-dont-have-to-experience-what-i-did)
## Cup competitions
In the [EFL Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/efl-cup), United beat Wrexham 4–2 in the first round on 13 August 2024 and were eliminated by Barnsley, 1–0 away, on 27 August.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) In the FA Cup they lost 0–1 at home to Cardiff City in the third round proper on 9 January 2025.[2](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/) • [12](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/2024-2025/matchlogs/c690/schedule/Sheffield-United-Scores-and-Fixtures-EFL-Cup) The third-round tie fell in the year United marked 100 years since their 1925 FA Cup final win, also against Cardiff.[11](https://vitalfootball.co.uk/2024-25-sheffield-united-season-review/)
## Transfers and finance
Transfermarkt records 21 arrivals and 23 departures for the season, with income of €47.25m, expenditure of €22.14m, and an overall balance of +€25.12m. The most expensive signing was center-forward Tom Cannon from Leicester City for €11.85m, followed by Harrison Burrows from Peterborough United for €3.55m and goalkeeper [Michael Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-cooper) from Plymouth Argyle for €2.35m. Callum O'Hare, Tyrese Campbell, Jamie Shackleton, and Sam McCallum arrived on free transfers, and [Ben Brereton Díaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-brereton-diaz) joined on loan from [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton).[6](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sheffield-united/transfers/verein/350/saison_id/2024/pos//detailpos/0/w_s//plus/1) Departures included Oli McBurnie, who moved to Las Palmas.[13](https://as.com/futbol/primera/mercado-de-fichajes-de-laliga-ea-sports-202425-altas-y-bajas-n/)
The club's financial review of the season reports staff costs of around £46m, well down from Premier League levels, and net assets of around £4m, figures it reads as a club using its financial cushion to fund a promotion push.[3](https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/football/championship/sheffield-united/) [Investment](https://www.edgepedia.org/investment) was also committed to a new LED system at [Bramall Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/bramall-lane) for summer 2025, intended to extend matchday revenue and fan engagement.[7](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/gc-media-assets.gc.sheffieldunited.co.uk/d6dd3470-2c46-11f1-953c-15caba6ef04b.pdf)
## References
1. [Sheffield United Stats, Records and History, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/history/Sheffield-United-Stats-and-History)
2. [Sheffield United match record: 2024-25, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/matches/season/2025/)
3. [Sheffield United FY2024-25 Finance & Season Review, Spark Intel](https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/football/championship/sheffield-united/)
4. [England 2024/25, RSSSF](https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eng2025.html)
5. [Billy Sharp exclusive with FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/billy-sharp-exclusive-i-still-love-sheffield-united-but-ive-never-seen-the-club-score-a-goal-in-a-play-off-final-i-hope-its-promotion-this-time-and-my-kids-dont-have-to-experience-what-i-did)
6. [Sheffield United – Transfers 24/25, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/sheffield-united/transfers/verein/350/saison_id/2024/pos//detailpos/0/w_s//plus/1)
7. [The Sheffield United Football Club Limited, annual accounts](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/gc-media-assets.gc.sheffieldunited.co.uk/d6dd3470-2c46-11f1-953c-15caba6ef04b.pdf)
8. [EFL Championship 2024-25 season summary](https://candbco.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/a954f2c8-7191-4b34-80da-ba5b4b0d2c95.pdf)
9. [Why can't Sheffield United win a play-off final?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c79el4n727qo)
10. [Sheffield United vs Sunderland: Championship Play-Off Final preview, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/sheffield-united-vs-sunderland-championship-play-off-final-preview)
11. [2024-25 Sheffield United Season Review, Vital Football](https://vitalfootball.co.uk/2024-25-sheffield-united-season-review/)
12. [2024-25 Sheffield United Scores and Fixtures (EFL Cup), FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/1df6b87e/2024-2025/matchlogs/c690/schedule/Sheffield-United-Scores-and-Fixtures-EFL-Cup)
13. [Mercado de fichajes de LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25, AS](https://as.com/futbol/primera/mercado-de-fichajes-de-laliga-ea-sports-202425-altas-y-bajas-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › English lower league club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license