Sheffield United in pole position to sign “intelligent” new striker on loan

Sheffield United are reportedly favourites to land an “intelligent” new striker on loan this month to help boost their chances of an immediate return to the Premier League.

Sheffield United news and updates

Sheffield United are currently enduring a difficult spell, with Chris Wilder’s side having won just one of their last five games in all competitions. Losses to promotion rivals Sunderland and Burnley in the Championship have put a dent in their automatic promotion chances, while most recently, a defeat to struggling Cardiff City in the FA Cup saw them dumped out in the tournament’s third round.

A solitary goal from Bluebirds striker Cian Ashford was enough to beat United, who just two seasons ago made it to the semifinals.

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A loan move is on the cards.

Speaking to the press after his side’s exit from the FA Cup, Wilder said he was “disappointed with some of the boys because they should have been better”.

“There was an opportunity for those that haven’t played a lot of football to impress, but it is where we are at the moment,” he explained: “I’d have liked it to look a lot better from those who have had the opportunity, we gave the ball away in poor areas, but we were chucking a team together and expecting it to flow, they arguably did the same and did better than us to progress.”

Blades now in pole position to sign Brereton Diaz

To try and get their season back on track, United are reportedly favourites to re-sign Ben Brereton Diaz on-loan from Southampton in January due to the player’s preference. Brereton Diaz spent the second half of last season on loan at Bramall Lane, scoring six goals in 16 games before completing a permanent move to St. Mary’s in the summer.

The Chile international, however, has since struggled for minutes with the Saints, starting just four Premier League games.

According to Sky Sports News, Southampton are now keen to offload Diaz, and although Sunderland and Blackburn have both made approaches for him, the 25-year-old would only consider a return to United.

Sky report that Diaz’s partner is due to give birth to their baby soon, so he will only consider a move that is suitable for his family. If he can’t return to United, the striker is “happy to stay at St Mary’s and fight for his place”.

The former Blackburn sensation has been capped 35 times by Chile, scoring seven times. In 2022, he was named the Chilean Footballer of the Year. Speaking about the striker about a 2-0 defeat to South Korea in June of that year, former Chile boss Eduardo Berizzo said: “Brereton is very intelligent in his movement and found himself behind rival defenders several times.

“He was not given the goal, but he is a footballer with many qualities, he did a great performance despite the fact that his league in England stopped a long time ago. He is a player of interesting movements. He will be an important reference for us.”