Paul Heckingbottom returns to the Premier League as manager of Sheffield United, having been appointed on a full-time basis at Bramall Lane in November 2021.

The Barnsley-born man began his playing career with Sunderland in 1995, but after failing to make an appearance, left for loan spells with Scarborough, Hartlepool United and Darlington.

The defender also featured for Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday, before hanging up his boots in 2012 while at non-league Harrogate Town.

Heckingbottom’s first senior role in coaching was as caretaker manager of Barnsley, whom he took over permanently after leading the club back to the Championship in 2016.

He had brief spells as head coach of Leeds United in 2018 and Hibernian the following year.

He took charge of Sheff Utd’s Under-23s in 2020, but was promoted to the first team after the departure of Chris Wilder in March 2021, with the club 12 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League.

Heckingbottom was unable to keep the Blades in the division, claiming three wins from his 10 matches as Sheff Utd were relegated.

He returned to his former role as the Under-23s coach but was again appointed as Sheff Utd first-team manager after the sacking of Slavisa Jokanovic in November 2021.

Heckingbottom guided his team to a fifth-place finish in 2021/22 but they were eliminated in the playoffs.

There were no concerns in the 2022/23 season as Sheff Utd were promoted back to the Premier League for the first time in two years by finishing second.