Pre-season always gives an opportunity for players to express themselves, especially the youngsters. And so far, Andre Brooks stands out in pre-season, across the first three fixtures.
Brooks has been deemed one to watch in United’s development squad for some time now. He even showed his ability in last season’s FA Cup fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, at Bramall Lane.
The young midfielder has been impressive in the games against Chesterfield, Estoril and even more so in last night’s narrow defeat to Rotherham United where he created a couple of good chances for Daniel Jebbison.
In the first half, Brooks cut inside from the right and bent in a pinpoint cross but Jebbison was denied by the goalkeeper. And in the second half, he played a perfectly weighted through ball to Jebbison, who carried the ball forward and unleashed a shot but Johansson in the Rotherham goal was equal to it.
With the way he has performed so far, he will have given Paul Heckingbottom and his staff some thinking to do regarding his involvement in the team in the upcoming games.
My opinion
Having watched Sheffield United’s development team for a number of years, I have always enjoyed watching Andre Brooks play. He just seems to glide across the pitch effortlessly with the ball at his feet.
What I think is the best quality he possesses is his team ethic and work rate. He works equally as hard defensively as he does offensively. On top of that, he can play several positions such as left-wingback, central midfield and further up the pitch, and he looks more than comfortable in whatever role is asked of him.
