Sheffield United: "Best pure striker we've ever had" touted as ideal missing piece of Chris Wilder puzzle | OneFootball

FLW has been speaking with our Sheffield United fan pundit to pick out one former Blade who would be a dream addition to Chris Wilder's side.

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...

Sheffield United were largely able to add the players they wanted to Chris Wilder's team this summer, despite their ongoing takeover situation threatening to disrupt the Blades' ability to recruit.

Kieffer Moore, Callum O'Hare, Harrison Burrows and Michael Cooper are just some of the additions that Sheffield United were able to welcome to the club over the summer.

The majority of their new recruits have already set about making an instant impact at Bramall Lane, with the Blades enjoying a strong start to their Championship campaign.

With clear aspirations of an instant return to Premier League football, some fans will be looking further back into the past to remember past favourites who would fit in incredibly well to Wilder's current squad for their 2024-25 promotion push.

James Beattie pinpointed as ideal past Sheffield United player for current squad

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy - of The Blades Ramble YouTube channel - believes that if a prime James Beattie were in the current starting 11 at Bramall Lane, then it would probably be the missing piece of the puzzle to fire them to the Premier League, although the obvious talent of Iliman Ndiaye has not been ignored.

"Now, there's different options here for which former player would fit perfectly in the current 11," Jimmy said when speaking to Football League World.

"If you're talking best ever player, I think Iliman Ndiaye is our best ever player, and I think he fits into any 11 that you've got because he's the best player in the side.

"So, if I've got a license to pick any former player that I can have in my Sheffield United team, it's Ndiaye. Having said that, we've got a lot of options going forward in terms of creativity. "The defence is fairly solid, the goalkeeper is very good. I like Kieffer Moore, he's good for our side and what we want to do. But, if we had somebody like, I mean the obvious one is Billy Sharp.

"A fox in the box, we need a goalscorer essentially. But, I think, if I'm being totally honest, I would plump for James Beattie. A Beattie in this side, holding up the ball, could do a little bit of everything, great finisher, good in the air. I think he's the best natural striker we've had.

"Obviously Sharp goes down as a legend at the club, but I think Beattie is the best pure striker we've ever had at the club. I think he'd fit in superbly to this side."

Whether he was thumping free-kicks into the top corner, lashing home volleys, nodding in soaring headers or calmly converting from the penalty spot with his trademark routine of turning his back to the ball before sharply turning to strike it, Beattie could score every type of goal.

Despite only staying with the Blades for a season-and-a-half between August 2007 and January 2009 in his first stint, Beattie saw out the remainder of his prime years at Bramall Lane during this period, and the impact he had was sizeable enough for him to still be considered one of the club's greatest centre forwards of the modern day.

His 22 goals in 39 Championship appearances during the 2007/08 season was enough to place him joint-second in the scoring charts with West Brom's Kevin Phillips that year, and ensured he'd win the Blades' Player of the Year award, whilst he returned just under three years later when they were in League One, but he was never the same player.

Adding the 2007-2009 version of Beattie to Wilder's current Blades squad though would undoubtedly give United the firepower to blow their rivals away, whilst pairing him with Moore would see a deadly strike partnership form that would give the Blades the tools to hurt teams in so many ways.