Having already signed Norwegian team-mate Jostein Flo, Sheffield United boss Dave Bassett added Nilsen in November 1993 for the fee of £500,000, beating Aberdeen to his signature.

A popular figure at Bramall Lane, Nilsen played six seasons under five different managers, with a number of games at centre-back - particularly after United switched to a wing-back formation in 1997/98.

[3] Nilsen's final appearance came as he helped keep a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over West Brom in Feb 1999, before a surprise return to the Premier League saw him transferred to Tottenham Hotspur on a free.

[4] After making just two appearances at Spurs, Nilsen had a brief spell at Grazer AK before he returned home to play for Molde and Bryne.

At the end of the season, Nilsen left the club to take up the assistant coach position at the Norwegian top-flight side Viking.

[11] In 2014, he succeeded Odd-Karl Stangnes as manager of IF Fløya's women's team, combined with a teaching job at the Norwegian College of Elite Sports in Tromsø.