Chris Wilder hasn’t quite turned Sheffield United back into promotion contenders in the Championship.
Amazingly, the beloved Blades boss was given his marching orders in the summer, only now to be situated back at the Bramall Lane helm, after the failed experiment of Ruben Selles saw the South Yorkshire outfit rooted at the bottom of the league.
He has somewhat steadied the ship, with United now up to 17th position in the league, off the back of the Championship giants collecting 11 league wins with their trusty man back in charge.
But, they’re some way off the playoff spaces, as nine points separate the Blades from Wrexham in sixth spot. Can the 58-year-old inspire United further up the competitive division, with some standout January additions?
Sheffield United in pole position to land £14m star
Already, Wilder has worked his magic with new signings at Bramall Lane, with the free addition of Patrick Bamford continuing to go down a treat, as the former Leeds United striker got in on the goalscoring act, again, in a 3-1 win over Ipswich Town.
Unfortunately, while Bamford has boosted the attacking ranks, the Blades’ defensive ranks continue to look leaky, with their last clean sheet in all competitions coming way back in December versus Birmingham City. To solve some of these issues, the stuttering promotion hopefuls have been tipped to make a move for Brentford defensive midfield anchor Frank Onyeka.
Moreover, Wilder and Co are also in the hunt for injury-prone Crystal Palace centre-back Chadi Riad, according to journalist Alan Nixon, as the Morocco international looks for more regular gametime away from Selhurst Park on loan.
Once costing the Eagles £14m, his time in South London has been stop-start to say the least, with United perhaps offering him a great next step to express himself. As Nixon has put it, the EFL titans are at the front of the queue for his loan services.
Africa Foot has also weighed in to state that talks have progressed ‘significantly’, as Wilder prays that Radi joining the building on loan from Palace is as effective as Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s arrival was last season, from the exact same location.
How Radi could be Rak-Sakyi 2.0
While the Blades were ultimately unsuccessful in their promotion aims last season, as a playoff final loss stung for quite some time, it would be churlish to discard the overall season as a complete failure.
One major positive throughout the season was Rak-Sakyi’s performances as a gung-ho winger under Wilder’s watchful eye, as the 23-year-old finished his personally successful stint in South Yorkshire with seven goals and two assists next to his name.
That blistering tally would come about from just 22 starts, as Radi aims to be another figure Wilder can depend on at a moment’s notice, just this time when slotting in at the back to fix the Blades’ porous defensive performances.
Radi will surely be champing at the bit to prove himself away from Selhurst Park, too, having been Oliver Glasner’s first big statement buy at £14m, not long after the Austrian first slotted into the Palace dug-out.
|
Radi’s league numbers for Betis (23/24) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Radi |
|
Games played |
26 |
|
Minutes played |
2164 mins |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Pass accuracy % |
89.71% |
|
Aerial duel success % |
53.01% |
|
Ground duel success % |
63.64% |
|
Clean sheets |
4 |
|
Stats by Squawka |
|
He justified that price tag, too, when starring in La Liga with Real Betis, with his former manager in Spain, Manuel Pellegrini, hailing him as an “incredible” talent when averaging a high 89% pass accuracy per top-flight contest.
In stark contrast, Mark McGuinness, who is a regular at the back under Wilder, has just an 84% pass accuracy, while only collecting a meagre two clean sheets from 18 league appearances.
Therefore, slotting Radi into his starting XI could improve the options he has at his disposal at the back, much like Rak-Sakyi offered lots more quality to the forward areas last season, with the Moroccan once lauded as an “exciting young” talent by Palace chairman Steve Parish, before injuries took over.
He has recovered from his long injury layover, finally, and even impressed in a short cameo against Chelsea last time out, with Radi attributed with a freak assist for Chris Richards’ late consolation effort. Journalist Henry Swain would label his re-entry into the first team picture as “brilliant”, with a move out to the Championship perhaps getting the best out of him again, regularly.
It is risky to gamble on Radi, as he will be susceptible to another horror injury.
But, if United’s track record with loanees from Palace is anything to go by, he should be able to come in and be impactful, as Wilder and Co. attempt a dramatic surge up the congested table.
Sheffield United make approach to sign a “dominant” Soumare upgrade
Sheffield United are interested in signing a star who would be a big upgrade on Djibril Soumaré.