Sheffield United really did flex their muscles during the winter transfer window with a mammoth seven new signings entering the building.
Three of those fresh recruits joined right at the death on deadline day too, with left-field faces Christian Nwachukwu and Jefferson Caceres relocating to England from Bulgaria and Peru respectively, alongside forgotten Crystal Palace centre-back Rob Holding joining on loan.
The last of those new arrivals could signal the end of this Blades stalwart’s concrete space in the XI, as Chris Wilder now goes about tinkering with his side..
The Sheffield United player who could be axed after Holding’s arrival
This would be a harsh alteration to make, but Holding’s arrival on the scene could displace United captain Jack Robinson in the starting lineup moving forward.
After all, despite wearing the captain’s armband with pride when selected, the ex-Liverpool man has only started 17 of his side’s 30 Championship contests this season, meaning they would be able to survive without him regularly playing in the heart of defence.
When he has been fit, however, Robinson has been a consistent performer for the Blades over the years, with seven strikes next to his name from 140 games, alongside also being a brave battler at the back.
This campaign so far, Robinson has also won 4.9 duels per league contest when starring alongside his equally formidable partner in Anel Ahmedhodžić, with Wilder once even labelling the former Reds youth product as “excellent”.
But, the 57-year-old will be well aware that Holding wouldn’t have chosen to join the Blades on loan if he didn’t think regular minutes were going to come his way, with Wilder succeeding in the past few games with some last-minute alterations that could give him the confidence to boldly start the Palace outcast straight away.
Chris Wilder’s success changing the Sheffield United lineup
Indeed, United’s last win away at Derby County saw Wilder throw both Harry Clarke and Hamza Choudhury straight into the first-team fold for their debuts.
On top of that, both Ben Brereton Diaz and Tom Cannon remained in attack at Pride Park fresh off playing just one game prior for their new employers, only for all these surprise calls to pay off come full-time.
|
All four new signings vs Derby |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Cannon |
Brereton Diaz |
Choudhury |
Clarke |
|
Minutes played |
78 |
62 |
90 |
90 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Assists |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Touches |
19 |
27 |
64 |
60 |
|
Accurate passes |
8/12 (67%) |
16/19 (84%) |
34/43 (79%) |
27/33 (82%) |
|
Successful dribbles |
1/3 |
1/2 |
3/3 |
0/0 |
|
Total duels won |
1/6 |
1/7 |
8/12 |
7/12 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
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Looking at the table above, it’s clear from the numbers put in by the quartet that all four fresh faces left their mark on the 1-0 win, with both Cannon and Brereton Diaz combining well for the only strike of the day.
Whilst the new attacking pair showed off their prowess in front of goal, both Choudhury and Clarke showed off their dogged natures in helping their team grind out a hard-fought victory on the road with 15 combined duels won.
Therefore, it’s not completely out of the question that the Blades boss would gamble on introducing Holding straight into the first team fold, with the loan defender one figure who could be a capable performer at the level when up to full speed glancing at his 92 career Premier League appearances.
Holding will need to fight hard to secure a starting spot for good, however, with Robinson a rock at the back Wilder can rely on.
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