For Kieffer Moore it was a strange sort of Deadline Day.
The striker has become so accustomed to a last-minute move that it felt refreshing to be at a club, with his feet firmly under the table.
But did any part of the Sheffield United striker yearn for the drama of the motorway dash and the eleventh-hour medical?
Friday 13th September 7:30pm
Kick off 8:00pm
“No, not at all,” he tells Sky Sports with a big smile.
“I was so grateful to be in this position so early. There’s nothing worse than rushing around with the worry of not knowing if a move is going to happen or not.
“Safe to say I don’t miss that.”
He is already a key cog in Chris Wilder’s side, having completed the switch from Bournemouth in mid-July, he has played almost every minute so far for the unbeaten Blades.
“It’s so much better when you get here early, and you get to settle in and get to know the environment, what the manager wants from you and the lads as well,” the 32-year-old adds.
“It helps develop a better understanding of each other.”
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Utd and Watford – where Kieffer Moore missed an early penalty!
Standing at 6ft 5in, it is certain that Moore is a specific type of striker with an effective skill-set if used correctly.
He has moved around plenty in the EFL, and now values a manager and a squad that play to his strengths more than he used to when seeking out his next club.
“You have to take everything into consideration,” he says. “The style of play, the management, stuff like that.
“Maybe in the earlier parts of my career it didn’t matter as much to me, but as I’ve progressed those are the things I really look for.
“You want to go into a team where they can bring the best out of you, and you can help the team.
“But you also need to be adaptable. Things can change quickly, and you can’t just be a one-trick pony.”
Sheffield United will certainly be hoping that Moore can spearhead their immediate return to the Premier League.
He has previous in this regard, with a flurry of goals helping take Bournemouth to promotion in 2022, while he was also part of Ipswich’s remarkable success last season, an experience he describe as being ‘unbelievable’.
He hopes to complete the hat-trick at Bramall Lane, but insists there is no urgent pressure to achieve it.
“Make no mistake, this club wants to be back in the Premier League and I think you can just tell by the recruitment and everything else, that it’s all leading in that direction,” he says.
“But I wouldn’t say there’s a big overwhelming kind of feeling that we’ve got to get back there. I think it’s going to be a process.
“We’re assembling a really good squad. We’ve got good management and good staff. But, ultimately, I think we need to, as cliche as it sounds, genuinely take it game-by-game.
There are a lot of new faces in the building, a new playing style, and it’ll take a little time to gel.
“We just need to keep being at it, get as many points as we possibly can and just see where we end up near the end of the season.”
