Plenty of non-league strikers have left the doldrums of English football for more illustrious horizons. In the recent summer transfer window, we saw National League hotshot Kabongo Tshimanga leave Chesterfield for League One Peterborough United in a blockbuster deal. The 26-year-old shone brightly in Derbyshire however, it’s the Spireites’ neighbouring Sheffield that has truly produced some sensational strikers in recent years.
Sheffield United’s Under-Appreciated Conveyor Belt of Talent
Sheffield United have perhaps the most underrated academy in all of English football. Harry Maguire, who was given a vote of confidence in a recent Gary Pallister interview, honed his craft at Bramall Lane. While he may occasionally play like a non-league defender, he has never actually played outside of English football’s top four divisions. The club has also provided the English national team with the likes of current Manchester City captain Kyle Walker and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
However, it’s the striking department of the Bramall Lane club that we will be concentrating on. In recent years, it has converted two lower-league strikers into Premier League sensations in the last decade, namely Che Adams and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The former was taking non-league football by storm with Ilkeston Town as a teenager before he was spotted by United’s scouts. Once he was tempted to Bramall Lane, he made an immediate impact, scoring twice in a League Cup semi final against Tottenham Hotspur in just his second substitute appearance.
In the years since he has gone on to establish himself as one of English football’s finest strikers. He’s currently with Southampton in the English Championship, and he will be doing his utmost to ensure that the Saints return to the Premier League this term.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is another striker who first cut his teeth in non-league, albeit on loan. He has been on the books of the Blades since he was just a boy however, it was a loan stint with Stalybridge Celtic that showed the United hierarchy just how good he was. He has since become a fully-fledged England international and is currently banging the goals in for Everton.
Jamie Vardy
Of course, the highest-profile striker to ever come out of non-league football is Jamie Vardy. The Sheffield-born star was released by boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday at just 16 years of age and he would have to cut his teeth in the football world the hard way. He featured prominently with the likes of Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town before getting his big move to Leicester City. He went on to win the Premier League as 5000/1 outsiders with the Foxes however, the club suffered relegation last term.
