Everton as Blackburn avoided relegation from the Premiership. However, the goals for Blackburn dried up the following season and with manager Mark Hughes signing additional forwards including Welsh international Craig Bellamy, Stead was transferred on 13 June 2005 to Sunderland in a deal worth £1.8 million. Sunderland During his time at Sunderland Stead scored two goals, the first of which was on 1 April 2006 against Everton at Goodison Park in a 2–2 draw, breaking his duck of 11 months without a goal. He scored his second Sunderland goal in the 3–1 defeat to Southend United at Roots Hall on 19 August 2006. On 13 October 2006, he completed a loan move to Derby County and after failing to find the back of the net in his first 6 games, he finally broke his Derby duck with the first goal in a 2–1 win away at Coventry City on 11 November. He followed that goal with the opener in a 2–0 win at Luton Town to make it two in eight appearances and then again went on to bag Derby's first in the 1–0 home win against Leicester City. He was nominated for Powerade Player of the Month as a result of his form at Derby in November. Sheffield United Stead was signed by Sheffield United from Sunderland for a fee of £750,000, potentially rising to £1.2 million, on a three-and-a-half-year deal on 11 January 2007. On 13 January 2007, Stead played his first Premier League game with Sheffield United against Portsmouth and scored his first goal for the Blades a few weeks later, in his third game, against Fulham. He would go on to score again for the Blades in the next match against his former club Blackburn Rovers where Stead's muted celebration further endeared him to the Rovers fans, who remained grateful for the considerable contribution he had made during the relegation scrap in 2004. He scored a respectable five goals in total that season, the final of which came on the last day of the season against Wigan Athletic on 12 May, but his goal wasn't enough to prevent United from being relegated. Stead found first team starts harder to come by the following season as he fell behind James Beattie and Billy Sharp in the pecking order but still managed to make over thirty appearances and score six goals. During the subsequent transfer window Stead signed