Chris Wilder should offer Sheffield United man last chance saloon: View | OneFootball

Sheffield United have one Premier League game remaining before they return to being a Championship team.

It has been a very disappointing season for the Blades, as they never made a real go at staying in the league, with them heading into the final game of the season with just 16 points.

So, given how the season has gone, it may be expected that there could be a reset at the Yorkshire club this summer.

Chris Wilder will be at the head of that reset, and they have already made some key decisions, as they have confirmed that five members of the first team will be leaving when their contracts expire at the end of June.

But as well as looking to replace those players, it seems the Blades need to address the forward line in their squad, given how the season has gone.

Sheffield United’s attacking options heading into the summer

As mentioned, this 2023/24 season has been a real struggle for Sheffield United in all areas of the pitch.

The Yorkshire side have been dire in defence, as they have conceded over 100 goals in the league.

But as well as having a leaky defence, Sheffield United have also been disappointing in attack, as they have scored the least number of goals in the league.

They head into the final game of the season having scored just 35 goals, which is five lower than Burnley, who have also been relegated back to the Championship, and 15 lower than Luton Town, who are expected to join them.

United’s forward line has been largely frustrating, despite having players such as Ben Brereton Diaz, Cameron Archer, Oli McBurnie, William Osula, and Rhian Brewster.

But heading back to the second tier could see the club move some of these players on, but given their lack of options and the fact they are unlikely to spend big, Wilder should be looking to offer Brewster another chance ahead of their return to the Championship.

Chris Wilder should offer Rhian Brewster final chance ahead of Championship return

For everyone involved, it has been a campaign to forget for Sheffield United, but in particular for striker Rhian Brewster.

The 24-year-old has been at Bramall Lane since 2020, when he joined the club in a big-money move from Liverpool.

So, this will be the forward’s fourth campaign with Sheffield United, and so far, he has yet to live up to his billing. This season has been truly disappointing, as Brewster has only appeared in 12 league games, failing to score in any of them.

However, given the fact that United may be unable to spend large amounts of money this summer, and they are back in the second tier, this summer could be a chance for Wilder to give Brewster one final opportunity.

It is a crucial moment in the player’s career, as he will enter the final 12 months of his contract with the club, so he needs to justify to the club why they should keep him, or he could soon be on his way out.

But all the forwards have disappointed at the club this season, so this summer is a chance to reset, and Wilder should be looking to give the former Liverpool forward one more chance.

This is because the striker has experience in the Championship and has proven before how good he can be at that level.

In the 2019/20 season, Brewster spent the second half of the season on loan at Swansea City from Liverpool. He played 20 times for the Swans, with 19 of them coming as starts, and in that time, he scored an impressive 10 goals.

The 24-year-old was averaging 0.5 goals per game, with a goal coming every 167 minutes of football.

Brewster could have had even more goals to his name, as he was averaging 2.4 shots per game, and he did miss eight big chances. But impressively, he finished that season with a goal conversion rate of 21%, as per Sofascore.com.

So, the striker has shown he is more than capable of performing well in the Championship; it is just now whether he can get back to being that player and prove to Wilder and Sheffield United that he deserves another chance.

Brewster needs to come back in pre-season with an attitude that shows he’s ready to go and that he can be the player to lead the forward line under Wilder. He also needs to have luck on his side and stay injury-free, as that could potentially scupper his chances of being in the starting XI.