Sheffield United get their Championship season underway on Friday evening at Preston North End. Despite an undefeated pre-season many believe the Blades are sleepwalking into the upcoming campaign due to a considerable lack of squad depth.
Blades lacking depth across the pitch
As things stand, United have two goalkeepers at the club: Adam Davies and Ivo Grbic – the latter had a shocking time in the Premier League and he has been linked with a move back to Spain after just a few months at the club.
Another position where Chris Wilder has limited options is on the right of the defence. Anel Ahmedhodzic is the only senior right-footed centre-back at the club. Meanwhile, Femi Seriki is the only current fit right-back at the club with Jamie Shackleton facing a month on the sidelines. Sai Sachdev has played right-back for the development team however Wilder has played him at centre-back in these friendly games.
Sheffield United appear to be moving away from the 5-3-2 system at long last; Wilder has opted to play a 4-2-3-1 shape (which I broke down in this analysis piece here!) With that being said, the Blades currently have no natural wide players so they are playing midfielders there, with Anis Slimane mainly featuring on the left and Andre Brooks on the right. In the game against Rotherham United, Gustavo Hamer played down the left.
United have been linked with several natural wingers this summer: Liam Millar, Josh Bowler and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
The Blades are also light at the top of the pitch. Kieffer Moore and Rhian Brewster are the club’s only senior strikers – Moore is already a doubt for the season opener after suffering a cut to the head in training, while Brewster’s injury history is a concern.
Sheffield United eager to do more business
Wilder is in the market for an additional striker and he is said to be extremely keen on bringing Leicester City forward Tom Cannon to the club via a season-long loan. Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion have declared interest in him as well, but the Foxes are reluctant to let him leave right now due to Jamie Vardy sidelined with an injury, per Alan Nixon. All three Championship clubs will have to wait until the end of the transfer window for Leicester to make a decision, in time for Vardy’s return for selection.
With the sale of Will Osula to Newcastle United pending, the Blades would want to spend a portion of that fee on Plymouth Argyle keeper Michael Cooper, according to Nixon. Chris Wilder and his staff at Bramall Lane are admirers of Cooper but they have been unwilling to meet Argyle’s valuation of £3 million thus far.
