Football
Backed to Shine: Chris Wilder Confident in Striker's Potential to Lead Sheffield United's Premier League Push
Chris Wilder is confident in the striker's potential to lead Sheffield United's Premier League push. Backed to shine, the manager believes the player can be a game-changer this season.
Image Credits: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
Former Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster is being backed to finally fulfil the potential that convinced Jurgen Klopp to insert a buy-back clause into the deal which saw him become Sheffield United’s record transfer signing.
Injury Struggles and Unfulfilled Potential
After suffering a debilitating series of injuries since completing a £23.5m move to Bramall Lane four years ago, Brewster enters the new season having scored only five times in 77 outings for the South Yorkshire club.
That tally, combined with a frustrating fitness record, has prompted many Blades fans to question the wisdom of the decision to buy the ex-England under-21 international.
But with Brewster now inching his way back towards peak condition, boss Chris Wilder believes the centre-forward can silence his critics by spearheading United’s charge for Premier League football.
A Key Part of Wilder’s Plans
“He’s going to be one of four strikers at the top of the pitch for us, without a shadow of a doubt,” Wilder told SportsBoom.com.
“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 with the rest of the lads.”
Image Credits: Antara News
Revealing plans to emulate one of the tactical ploys responsible for helping Ipswich Town gain promotion from the Championship last term, Wilder added: “One of the things they 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’ve got a history of doing the same thing here and it’s something we are looking to try and do again.”
Klopp’s Enduring Faith
Still the most expensive player in The Blades’ history, Brewster was once tipped as a Reds star of the future by Klopp, who reluctantly agreed to sell him at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign.
But before sanctioning the centre-forward’s departure, Klopp, whose Anfield reign came to an end earlier this summer, ensured The Reds could take him back to the North-West should he prove a success at United.
The deal, which set Brewster’s value at £40m, expired last year with the player struggling to recover from the hamstring issues which have plagued his stay with United.
Although he recently unveiled Kieffer Moore and Callum O’Hare in a bid to revive The Blades’ fortunes following last term’s relegation, Wilder confirmed Brewster, now aged 24, remains a key part of his plans - not least because Scotland’s Oli McBurnie has chosen to pursue a career in Spain with Las Palmas rather than agree a new contract at United.
Finally Time to Shine
“We have to modify things for Rhian in training,” said Wilder. “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.”
Everyone here, the rest of the players and all of us as staff, want to see him do well and we’ll give him every opportunity because not only is he a good player he’s also a really great lad.
Chris Wilder
“I’ve got no doubt that he’ll score goals for us,” Wilder added. “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.”
Team Support and Historical Parallels
“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,” Wilder concluded
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.