Opinion: Sheffield United must steer clear of signing Tottenham Hotspur man in January | OneFootball

When Sheffield United opted to draft in Slavisa Jokanovic as Chris Wilder’s successor, they would have been hoping to emerge as legitimate contenders for automatic promotion in the Championship this season.

However, despite bolstering his squad by signing the likes of Conor Hourihane, Morgan Gibbs-White and Robin Olsen on temporary deals, the Serbian was unable to guide the Blades to a relative amount of success at this level during the opening months of the campaign.

As a result of United’s inconsistency in the Championship, Jokanovic was sacked by the club last week.

The Blades have since opted to hand over the reins at Bramall Lane to Paul Heckingbottom who won his first permanent game in charge of the club on Sunday.

Considering that the Yorkshire-based outfit are only six points adrift of the play-off places, there is still a reasonable chance that they will be able to secure an immediate return to the top-flight in 2022.

Whilst Heckingbottom has already suggested that he is happy with the strength of his squad ahead of the upcoming transfer window, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he is still keeping an eye on potential targets ahead of January.

One of the individuals who has been linked with a move to the Blades is Tottenham Hotspur winger Jack Clarke.

As reported by Football League World earlier this month, United are one of several clubs who are keeping tabs on the former Leeds United man.

It is understood that Clarke, who is also being tracked by Barnsley and Middlesbrough, will be allowed to leave Spurs on a temporary basis in January.

Whilst the 21-year-old may have suited the 4-2-3-1 formation that Jokanovic deployed earlier this season, he could struggle to adapt to a set-up that relies heavily on the presence of wing-backs.

Having utilised a 3-4-2-1 formation against Bristol City at the weekend, Heckingbottom may decide to stick with this tactical approach for the foreseeable future as the club’s current crop of players are used to playing a similar system.

Keeping this in mind, Clarke could end up being forced to watch on from the sidelines if he makes the switch to the Blades as he isn’t suited to this style of play.

Furthermore, the winger’s performances during his most recent loan spell at this level left a lot to be desired as he only managed to provide one assist in 14 appearances for Stoke City last season.

Instead of taking a risk on an individual who may take some time to adjust to the way that he wants his side to play, Heckingbottom should switch his attention to drafting someone who possesses an excellent track-record of delivering the goods in the Championship.