Club career Deane made his debut for
Doncaster Rovers in the
1985–86 season and went on to play 66 times for them in the Third Division, scoring 12 goals, before they were relegated at the end of
1987–88 season. He was then sold to Sheffield United, just relegated from the Second Division, for a fee of £25,000. He first appeared for
Sheffield United in an 8–1 friendly victory against
Skegness Town. His first league goal came in the
Third Division in the opening game of the season against
Reading but his hero status did not really start until 17 September, when both he and
Tony Agana hit hat-tricks in a 6–1 victory over
Chester City. It was the first double hat-trick by Blades players since
Harry Johnson and Arthur Mercer helped the Blades achieve their record 11–2 victory over
Cardiff City on 1 January 1926. His goals helped the Blades win promotion as Third Division runners-up
that season, and followed this up with a second successive promotion a year later which saw the club return to the First Division after 14 years away. In
1990-91, Deane scored 13 goals as the Blades survived their first season back in the First Division. He scored 12 goals the following season to help the Blades finish ninth in the league - their highest finish for 17 years - and comfortably qualify for a place in the new
FA Premier League. Deane scored the first goal in the
FA Premier League for
Sheffield United against
Manchester United after 5 minutes on 15 August 1992. In the same game he scored a second after 50 minutes from the penalty spot as Sheffield United went on to win 2–1. Deane went on to say of the goal, "I found out I had scored the first goal at half-time but it didn't really feel like a big thing at the time." On 16 January 1993, Deane scored a
hat-trick against
Ipswich Town in a 3–0 league victory, making him one of the first players to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. He left Sheffield United for
Leeds United for £2.9million in June 1993 – a record signing for Leeds and a record sale for the Blades. At the time he was one of the most expensively signed players in English football. He had first been linked with a move to
Elland Road 18 months previously. He spent four years at
Elland Road, scoring 32 goals in 138 Premier League appearances, enjoying an appearance in the
UEFA Cup and collecting a
Football League Cup runners-up medal in the
1995–96 season. In July 1997, Deane returned to Sheffield United for £1.5million as new manager
Nigel Spackman prepared to build a promotion winning team. He scored 11 league goals in his second spell with the Blades before
Graeme Souness signed him for
S.L. Benfica in a £1million deal. In his 18 Portuguese league matches for Benfica, Deane found the net seven times. In October 1998, after nine months in Portugal, he returned to England in a £3million move to
Middlesbrough. His second season with Boro saw him score nine Premier League goals, but in
2000–01 the goals dried up and he soon found himself struggling for a place in the first team. In November 2001, he joined
Leicester City, where he scored the first competitive goal at the Walkers Stadium, scoring both goals in a 2–0 victory over
Watford. He had scored six goals in 15 Premier League appearances for them the previous season, but his goals weren't enough to stop the Foxes from being relegated. He had been brought to Leicester by
Dave Bassett, the man he had played under at Sheffield United a decade earlier, but Bassett had been succeeded as manager by
Micky Adams just before relegation was confirmed. He then moved to
West Ham United. Here he scored a last minute equaliser against
Wigan Athletic on the final day of the 2003–2004 season. This goal sent
Crystal Palace into the Division One playoffs at the expense of Wigan, and ironically they beat West Ham in the final. When Deane was brought on as a substitute in the match he received a standing ovation by both sets of fans. After the play-off final he ended up returning for a second spell at
Leeds, who had just been relegated from the Premier League with huge debts. He struggled to make an impact in his second period at the club but memorably scored four goals in a 6–1 thrashing of
Queens Park Rangers in November 2004. After a short spell at
Sunderland, he signed for
Perth Glory in the Australian
A-League. He left mid-season after failing to make an impact and sustaining a long-term injury, scoring once in seven appearances. He stated that he did not want to prevent
Perth Glory from signing another striker due to salary cap and squad size restrictions imposed by the league. After leaving
Perth Glory, Deane re-signed for the third time at
Sheffield United making him one of the only players
Sheffield United have signed three times. In December 2005 he made two substitute appearances before retiring at the beginning of the 2006–07 season, after the Blades had won promotion back to the Premier League following a 12-year exile.
International career Deane won three
caps for
England whilst with Sheffield United in the early 1990s. His England debut was as a half-time
substitute in a tour match against
New Zealand at
Mount Smart Stadium,
Auckland on 3 June 1991. His other England caps were against New Zealand at
Athletic Park on 8 June 1991, and against
Spain at
Estadio El Sardinero,
Santander, Cantabria on 9 September 1992. ==Managerial career==