Sheffield United capitalised on Birmingham City decision to land classy attacker who won't be forgotten | OneFootball

When the Blades snapped up this 28-year-old for free, very few could've predicted the way he'd write his name into Bramall Lane folklore forever.

Before their latest Steel City derby victory, Sheffield United fans inside Bramall Lane stood to salute three men who made a significant mark on a previous edition.

Next to John Fleck and Leon Clarke, the two other scorers in the Blades' memorable victory away at Sheffield Wednesday in 2017, stood Mark Duffy - the man responsible for arguably the most famous goal the fixture has ever seen.

The Liverpool-born midfielder arrived at the club on a free transfer from Birmingham City back in 2016. Now though, he's fondly remembered among Blades fans as an integral part of a side that rapidly rose from League One back to the Premier League.

Mark Duffy's journey to South Yorkshire

After coming through the youth academies at Liverpool and Wrexham, Duffy joined non-league outfit Vauxhall Motors in 2004. However, it would take another five years before he got his break in the Football League, as it was then known. An initial loan spell at Morecambe became permanent in the summer of 2009, and after an impressive stint on the Lancashire coast, he made the jump to Championship side Scunthorpe United in 2011.

Duffy made the short trip down the M180 to Doncaster Rovers in the summer of 2013, signing for an undisclosed fee. After goal difference meant Donny would be back in League One for the 2014/15 season, he departed South Yorkshire for Blues on a free. However, he never really made it beyond the fringes of the squad at St Andrew's, scoring a solitary goal in just seven appearances.

After a loan spell at Chesterfield in 2015, he went on loan to Burton Albion for the 2015/16 season. Duffy was integral to the Brewers' promotion to the Championship that season, earning himself a spot in the PFA's League One Team of the Year.

However, the Blues opted against retaining his services beyond 2016, which saw him move back to South Yorkshire and join the Blades.

The Blade who stopped the bounce

Duffy had an excellent first season at Bramall Lane. He featured in all but seven of the club's League One games, bagging six goals and nine assists. For the second consecutive season, he won promotion to the Championship as the Blades stormed to the title, earning 100 points in the process. It also saw Duffy once again named in the PFA's League One Team of the Year, allowing him to make good on the club's faith in him almost immediately.

However, Blades fans probably remember Duffy most for his first goal of the 2017/18 campaign - as it sent the red and white half of the Steel City into derby day delirium.

Despite a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to Fleck and Clarke, Wednesday came out like a shot in the second half. Goals from Gary Hooper and Lucas João levelled the game by the 65th minute, which the Hillsborough crowd celebrated by getting out of their seats and bouncing around.

Two minutes later, United were back in front and there was only one end of the stadium on their feet. Starting the game as a substitute, Duffy hadn't been on the pitch long when he squeezed a shot beyond Kieren Westwood. United went on to win the game, which has become known as the 'Bouncing Day Massacre', 4-2.

"I never tire of seeing it," he later told the Sheffield Star. "Apart from the birth of your kids, it's one of the best feelings possible - and even then, it's a different ecstasy, out of nowhere."

Duffy went on to play 121 games in red and white, scoring 15 goals and making 25 assists. He played a key role in the side that won promotion back to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, but never featured in the top flight. After uninspiring loans at Stoke City and Dutch side ADO Den Haag throughout 2019/20, the Blades released him at the end of the season.

From lower-league talent to cult hero

Duffy was arguably Chris Wilder's most frugal signing of his first stint in charge of the Blades. His fantastic efforts on loan at the Brewers the season before demonstrated his talents in the lower leagues, and despite being in his early thirties when he arrived at Bramall Lane, his first season saw him prove age is just a number.

He'll never be able to visit S2 without someone mentioning that goal at Hillsborough, but his time in the Steel City was more than just that moment. He became one of Wilder's most valuable players as the club finally got out of League One and quickly moved towards the Premier League.

There is absolutely no doubt Duffy will never be forgotten in Sheffield, by both its footballing sides. However, that single moment he gave to the Steel City is a polarising memory across the divide.