Chris Wilder’s task of keeping Sheffield United in the Premier League has been dealt a major blow after the Blades’ owner went back on promises to bolster Wilder’s injury-hit and relegation-threatened squad during this transfer window.
United find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and every bookmaker listed in the online sports betting reviews has the Blades as odds on favourites to return to The Championship come the end of the season.
Wilder guided United to an impressive ninth-place finish in the club’s first season back in English football’s top division. This season, however, has been nothing short of dreadful and relegation looks all but certain.
Only Two Points From a Possible 51
The Blades only picked up two points from their opening 17 fixtures. Draws against newly-promoted Fulham and Brighton were the only games United came away with anything to show for their efforts.
A 1-0 victory at Brammall Lane against struggling Newcastle was the club’s first Premier League win since they beat Chelsea 3-0 at home in July 2020.
United find themselves with only five points from a possible 57 and are 12 points behind Brighton in 17th place. Their situation is more dire than that, however, because Wilder’s men have a -22 goal difference while Brighton’s deficit is only -7.
Scoring goals has been a major problem for The Blades this season; they’ve only managed 10 goals in 19 Premier League games. Wilder was confident of rectifying that problem with a couple of signings during the current transfer window, which slams shut on February 1.
Jesse Lingard was one Wilder target. The out of favour Manchester United attacking midfielder had been touted to head to the Steel City on loan until the end of the season, giving Wilder much needed attacking options. A loan move to West Ham United now looks most likely for the former England man.
Wilder is also thought to have been considering a move for Peterborough United’s 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward Siriki Dembele. The Posh forward has bagged five goals in 17 appearances for the League One outfit this campaign and would fit straight into Wilder’s squad.
The Blades Board Refuses to Sanction Any Incoming Transfers
Neither of those transfer will happen because the Blades’ hierarchy, led by the controversial Prince Abdullah, refuse to sanction any incoming transfers. The club is not willing to commit to strengthening the squad when it is all but guaranteed it will be playing in the Championship next season.
The club spent big in the summer, forking out £20 million for Swansea City striker Ollie McBurnie and a further £22 million on Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge from Belgian side Genk. Neither player can be considered a success at this stage.
McBurnie has only found the back of the net once in 21 appearances, his only goal coming in the 1-2 home defeat at the hands of high-flying Leicester City. That was a run of 18 games without scoring.
Berge played 13 times, scoring once and picking up four yellow cards, for the Blades before picking up an injury in the 12th minutes of the 2-3 defeat at home to Manchester United on December 17. Berge underwent an operation on a thigh tendon on Christmas Eve and is unlikely to return to training before April.
An Impossible Task
Without significant strengthening of his squad, Wilder has an almost impossible task of keeping Sheffield United in the Premier League. The club is in a precarious position and has back-to-back away games against Manchester United and Manchester City in their next two games and it’s extremely unlikely they’ll pick up any points there.
Prince Abdullah hasn’t exactly endeared himself with the Blades faithful and his lack of willingness to at least attempt to keep United in the top flight won’t do him any favours. His net worth of £186 million puts him firmly at the bottom of the Premier League owners rich list, perhaps that has some bearing on his lack of support for a struggling Wilder.
