Over the years, there has always been players who have been billed as the next big thing, or who have been brought in for a decent fee and simply not done what was expected of them. 

This is no different at Sheffield United, where over the years the Blades have had more than their fair share of terrible signings and youth players who have been bigged up, only to fail miserably.

Although the Blades do have one of more successful football academies in the country in terms of producing first teamers, it does not mean they always have a 100% success rate.

The same can be said for signings, with the likes of John Brayford in more recent years signing for an absurd £2m when the club were in League One - where they just so happen to remain, minus a John Brayford.

With this in mind, FLW writer Lee Connor looks at THREE over-hyped Sheffield United players who never quite lived up to their billing...

John Ebbrell

There can't really be another place to start, other than the £1m signing from Everton that was John Ebbrell.

Tipped to be the missing piece in the jigsaw for United, the midfielder signed for over £1m in 1997 under Blades gaffer Howard Kendall. However, it would turn out to be disastrous reunion between the two former Toffees, as Ebbrell completely flopped.

A known foot injury never recovered, and Ebbrell managed a paltry 45 minutes of football against Reading, and was never to be seen in a Blades shirt again.

His career would never get back on track, and after numerous surgeries and attempts at coming back from injury, he was ultimately forced to retire.

Diego Di Girolamo

The so called 'wonderkid' of the last few years down at Bramall Lane, Diego, as he likes to be known, did simply nothing for the Blades.

Brought into the team under Danny Wilson as a 17-year-old, Diego never kicked on under numerous managers, and it was apparent there was a distinct attitude problem from the Italian youngster.

David Weir, Nigel Clough, and Nigel Adkins all saw fit to not select him, and he was farmed out on loan on more than one occasion.

Diego now plays for Chesterfield under former manager Wilson, where he is still struggling to nail down a regular place.

Jordan Slew

The pacey striker was billed as the next big thing when he was part of the successful youth cup side who lost to Manchester United in the final a few seasons back.

However, after leaving for a fee of over £1m for Blackburn Rovers, Slew's career curtailed into nothing, and he is literally only just getting back into the swing of playing, with Plymouth Argyle taking a risk on the striker.

Now 24, Slew really needs to buckle down and try and achieve something in the game, otherwise he risks being another forgotten product of a successful academy system.