"Definitely a player in there" - Sheffield United flop backed to shine ahead of key contract date | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

A difficult Premier League season for Sheffield United saw them drop immediately back down to the Championship, meaning there are decisions to be made this summer over which players will continue with the team into the next campaign.

One of those that will be under consideration is Rhian Brewster, who signed for the Blades in 2020 for a reported fee of £23.5million but is yet to have the desired impact.

The striker showed promise as a youth prospect in Liverpool's academy and his move to the Yorkshire club seemed like the natural next step in his career, but he has found it difficult to get going over the past few years.

Sheffield United advised to show faith in Rhian Brewster

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit Owain Wyse doesn't foresee much of a market for selling Brewster even if the Blades wanted to offload him, and even thinks there may still be time for his move to South Yorkshire to come good.

"I think, even if we wanted to let him go, we couldn’t," Owain told Football League World.

"There’s nobody, I don’t think, that’d take a gamble on him for any sort of decent amount of money after watching his progress for the last few years.

“He’s a talented player, there’s no doubt about that, but I still can’t possibly tell you if he’ll come good. “I think there’s still a belief, certainly within me and amongst quite a lot of the fan base, that if you give Brewster a long run of injury-free games, he will score goals. "And once he does that, his confidence will flow, and we will start to see that ability that he certainly has shine through. “I feel sorry for him. He’s been so unlucky with injuries. There’s definitely a player in there, and I really, really hope, as I have done for the last two or three years now, that he can stay fit.

“I still think he can be really important to us.”

Sheffield United may be best served by sticking with Rhian Brewster

As Owain says, the market for Brewster this summer looks tough.

The 24-year-old was a substantial signing in 2020, coming in at over £20 million, and in the subsequent three and a half years has appeared just 77 times, providing five goals and one assist.

They won't have been the stats anyone at Bramall Lane was looking for as the forward heads into the final year of his five-year contract, but they may have little choice in persevering for one final campaign.

It would take another large fee for the club to avoid making a substantial loss on the player, and with his wages estimated by Capology to be around £35,000 per week, he may be priced out of a move elsewhere.

Based on his progress over the past few years, Owain correctly assesses that the market is likely to be thin when it comes to clubs willing to take a risk on Brewster when looking at the financial side.

The move may already feel like a failed venture, but the Blades may find their best option is to show faith in Brewster and squeeze anything they can out of the remaining year on his current deal.