When Sheffield United announced the signing of centre midfielder Tom Davies last summer there was a sense that the Blades had pulled off an excellent signing for a newly promoted Premier League club, given his array of top flight experience. However, 12 months on, Davies made less than a dozen appearances for the Blades as they suffered an instant relegation.
It’s easy to forget that the former Everton midfielder has almost 170 Premier League appearances to his name at the age of 25. This statistic is often masked by his injury record in the last few seasons.
For many years since coming through the Everton academy, Davies was a prominent and steady figure in the midfield at Goodison Park, but then a serious wave of injuries put a stop to that.
In the 2021/22 campaign, the Evertonian missed 31 games in all competitions due to injury. His injury troubles carried over to his debut season at Sheffield United where he made a total of nine appearances in all competitions.
Tom Davies on rehab ahead of key pre-season at Sheffield United
As per The Star, Tom Davies has travelled to a neuro training centre in Munich to continue his rehabilitation ahead of a key pre-season campaign.
The former Toffees man has said: “I wanted to get out there and show the club who put faith in me the qualities I have and what I can bring to the table. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the way [last season] but next season is a great chance to rebuild and we aim to get back in the Premier League.
“For me, it’s about getting back on the pitch and enjoying it again. I know we have gone down but often in this time of rebuild, great squads can come from them.
“Players are developed at this time and given chances. We have got a hungry squad and I’m sure the manager will have us ready for the season. It’s exciting. If we can get back in the Premier League then that will be great. But personally, I’m just excited about playing football and rebuilding the team and being part of that.”
The Blades need to get Tom Davies back to full fitness
There is absolutely no doubting Davies’ ability on a football pitch. The issue is getting him on it and keeping him injury free. You do not play 48 times for an elite manager like Carlo Ancelotti if you don’t have key attributes like composure, intelligence and work rate, and during Ancelotti’s time at Everton we saw that in abundance from Davies.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo back in 2021, the manager with the most Champions League trophies in history spoke about Davies with fondness.
“With the ball he has maybe not the quality of a top midfielder but in that position we need to play simple passes, you don’t need to over-complicate. Sometimes he touches the ball one or two times too much and I say to him play simple.
“He cannot play No10, in my opinion, but when you play with three midfielders he can play all three positions, no problem, because tactically he is very intelligent,” Ancelotti stated.
Being described as “tactically perfect” by one of the greatest managers of all time is a huge compliment. But we need to see him on the pitch more in the Championship. And if he can stay fit, Sheffield United will undoubtedly have the best midfield trio in the Championship including Oli Arblaster and Gustavo Hamer.
