This former Sheffield United disappointment is tearing it up in Thailand's top flight: View | OneFootball

Sheffield United flop Richairo Zivkovic has enjoyed success since his move to Thailand earlier this year

The 2019/20 season was a hugely successful one for Sheffield United as they registered a top half Premier League finish after winning promotion from the Championship, but it wasn't an enjoyable campaign for all of their players.

It's fair to say that the name Richairo Zivkovic won't be a household one for English football fans, but the Curaçao international became a Premier League player with the Blades in 2020.

The striker had made a name for himself in the country of his birth, the Netherlands, and had played for the likes of Groningen, Ajax and Utrecht before moving to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai FC in 2019.

This meant that it was a bit of a strange move in January 2020 when a top half Premier League side signed him on loan, and they had the option to sign him on a permanent basis if he impressed.

However, that option to buy was never triggered, and Zivkovic has endured a nomadic career since, with him now bagging goals in Thai League 1 for Bangkok United, a move Sheffield United fans wouldn't have expected.

Richairo Zivkovic flattered to deceive at Sheffield United

Zivkovic joined the Blades on loan on deadline day in January 2020, and he was aiming to win a permanent deal at Bramall Lane, but in all honesty his time in South Yorkshire was a forgettable one.

In total, he played 106 minutes for the Blades across five Premier League matches, with all of them coming from the bench, and he failed to score or register an assist.

He was left out of the matchday squad for his first five games as a Blade, and made his debut after the season had resumed in the summer of 2020 after an enforced break thanks to the pandemic.

Chris Wilder's side actually lost five of their nine Premier League fixtures after Project Restart, which meant they slipped to ninth and missed out on European qualification which they were in contention for prior to the season being halted.

All in all, Zivkovic's signing was a strange one, with the Premier League being an obvious step-up in quality to what he'd been used to in China, and there was little fanfare when he departed in the summer of 2020.

After failing to earn a permanent deal at Bramall Lane, it's fair to say that the Curaçao international has played football in some somewhat lesser known leagues, but he's certainly found form recently.

Richairo Zivkovic has found his feet in an unexpected location

After leaving Sheffield United, Zivkovic joined fellow Chinese outfit Guangzhou City FC on loan from Changchun Yatai FC, before sealing a move back to Europe with Red Star Belgrade.

He wasn't exactly prolific in the Serbian capital, scoring just once in 14 games, and he moved back to his homeland with FC Emmen in 2022.

After a season in the Eredivisie, he made the somewhat unexpected move to Lion City Sailors in Singapore, before completing a summer move to Thai side Bangkok United.

It's worth stressing that Zivkovic isn't a veteran looking for one last payday, he's a 28-year-old who should be in the prime years of his career, so it's strange to see him playing in obscure leagues like Singapore and Thailand.

However, since his move to the Thai capital, Zivkovic has been prolific, scoring five times in nine games this season, following on from his time in Singapore when he scored 15 goals in 19 appearances.

The Curaçao international only signed a one-year deal with Bangkok United, so he's likely to be on the move again soon if his nomadic career is anything to go by, and he looks keen to use his career as an avenue to live around the world and experience different cultures.

From Sheffield United to Bangkok United in the space of four years, Zivkovic's signing will certainly go down as one of the stranger transfers the Blades have completed in recent seasons, and nobody would have expected him to be playing in Thailand at this stage when he moved to Yorkshire in 2020.