Sheffield United could hijack £6m Celtic, West Brom deal to land Ben Brereton Diaz replacement: View | OneFootball

The answer to Sheffield United's quest to replace Ben Brereton Diaz could lie in the green and white half of Glasgow, in the shape of Celtic winger Mikey Johnston.

The Chile international was one of the Blades' only positives in an otherwise dismal season, scoring six goals in 14 Premier League appearances after joining from Villarreal on loan in January.

But the 25-year-old, who was the Blades' joint-top scorer alongside Oli McBurnie last term, will return to LaLiga in the summer after the end of his loan spell, joining a lengthy list of departures which, as the Blades have already confirmed, also include Chris Basham, George Baldock, Oliver Norwood, Wes Foderingham and Max Lowe.

Ben Brereton Diaz's departure is a headache for Chris Wilder

Brereton Diaz's departure leaves a gaping hole in Chris Wilder's attacking options, with the 56-year-old expected to overhaul his squad this summer in a bid to lead Sheffield United back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Blades' return to the top flight ended disastrously last season as they finished rock bottom with just 16 points and conceded a Premier League record 104 goals in 38 matches while scoring a league-worst 35 goals.

Similarly, Johnston is set to return to Celtic following the conclusion of his successful loan spell at West Brom.

The Irishman spent the second half of last season on loan at The Hawthorns, where he proved to be a key player for Carlos Corberan's side, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 20 appearances in all competitions to help the Baggies to fifth place after joining in January.

Prior to his loan spell at The Hawthorns, Johnston had made 92 appearances in all competitions for Celtic, scoring 13 goals and providing 12 assists.

West Brom ultimately missed out on promotion after losing 3-0 on aggregate in the play-off semi-final to Southampton, but look well placed to go one better next season.

Mikey Johnston could make return to The Hawthorns

According to Football Insider, the Baggies are determined to bring Johnston back to The Hawthorns and are exploring a deal to sign him back for a second loan spell or on a permanent basis, with Celtic thought to be asking for a fee in the region of £6m.

But the winger would be a perfect addition to Sheffield United too. Johnston and Brereton Diaz, who were born a day apart from each other in April 1999, share plenty of similarities, with their versatility chief among them.

The Chile international was deployed as a striker in Wilder's 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formations last term but thrived off the left wing during his spell at Blackburn Rovers when he established himself as one of the best forwards in the Championship.

Following a slow start to life at Ewood Park, Brereton Diaz scored 36 goals in his last two seasons in the division, predominantly coming off the left wing, as Blackburn narrowly missed out on a play-off place in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns.

Similarly, Johnston's natural role is on the left of midfield, but he has also been deployed as a left-winger and, albeit far more sporadically, through the middle as the main striker.

Last season, 14 of his 16 starts for West Brom came on the left in Corberan's 4-2-3-1, with Grady Diangana in the No10 role and Tom Fellows on the right, behind Brandon Thomas-Asante.

The position brought out the best of Johnston, with the Republic of Ireland international scoring six of his seven goals from the left in an impressive second half of the season.

Though it would not necessarily be a like-for-like replacement, by bringing in a player has pace to hurt teams in behind and who is capable of drifting in from the left and scoring goals, Sheffield United could fill the gap left by the departing Chilean.

With the Blades looking to bounce back to the Premier League, Johnston would be a very shrewd addition to Wilder's squad, particularly should the Blades manage to secure him on loan.