Chris Wilder, during his first spell, was the one who brought Rhian Brewster to Sheffield United back in October 2020, costing the Blades approximately £23.5 million.
With the 24-year-old now entering the final year of his contract it has been an extremely unfortunate time at Bramall Lane for the former Liverpool youth standout. Brewster has not been able to get a good run of games without sustaining an injury, and this has led to him becoming quite rusty in front of goal. In 77 appearances for United he has scored five times.
Despite the lingering injury issues and lack of goal output, Sheffield United manager Wilder, who’s now in his second spell with the Blades, has total confidence in the club’s most expensive player in history.
Chris Wilder opens up about Rhian Brewster as he enters his final year with Sheffield United
Speaking to Sportsboom ahead of the opening kick-off against Preston North End next Friday, Wilder is under no illusions that this is a big campaign coming up for Brewster.
“He’s going to be one of four strikers at the top of the pitch for us. Without a shadow of a doubt it’s a big season for Rhian, definitely. He knows that and we know that. But it’s great to see him out there for us in our pre-season friendlies and that’s really going to help him – getting those minutes under his belt and being able to do things the right and correct way rather than having to play catch-up.
Brewster has been very unfortunate with hamstring injuries over the last couple of years, and Wilder is aware of this. In his interview with Sportsboom, the Blades chief spoke about keeping Brewster fresh and having to tweak the player’s training regime.
“One of the things [Ipswich] did unbelievably well was how they swapped things around in attack and kept everything fresh. Sometimes Rhian will start. Other times he’ll come off the bench and sometimes he might not play at all. But that pretty much goes for everyone because we want to keep things fresh and present opponents with a constantly changing set of challenges.
“We have to modify things for Rhian in training. It’s important we play our part by looking after him and protecting him. Hopefully we can give the boy a kick-start at last because if anyone deserves it then it’s Rhian.
Chris Wilder has no doubts that the former England youth international will come good and start firing on all cylinders for the Blades.
“I’ve got no doubt that he’ll score goals for us. He scores all the time in training and so he can do it out there on the pitch for real as well. We know that and he knows that. I’ve seen it before with players when they’ve struggled in front of goal.
“It reminds me of when we had David McGoldrick here a while back and he went through a really barren patch. But he kept doing what he had to do, retained everyone’s backing because of that, and eventually he exploded in front of goal. Didzy went on to become one of the most popular players here in recent times. Sometimes it just takes perseverance and a little bit of spark and then it’s lift-off.”
