Ian Porterfield bought him back for £100,000 and played him for the first time against Scunthorpe United on 26 September 1981, the 1–0 home victory being the first of a 17-game unbeaten run.
He formed an impressive partnership with Bob Hatton, feeding off the distribution of Colin Morris as United ended the season with 19 games without defeat to win the Fourth Division Championship, his 35 goals being a post-war record.
His final appearance for United came in a pre-season friendly at Bramall Lane against Spanish club Sevilla FC on 1 August 1986.
He began the 1986–87 season at Leeds United after a transfer fee of £125,000 but only managed 9 goals in 51 appearances, although one of those was against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in 1987.
He is one of the select band of players to have scored over 250 league goals in English football, although almost all of his career was spent outside the top flight.