Sheffield United first-teamer makes confident promotion claim on Blades | OneFootball

Sheffield United goalkeeper Adam Davies believes his side’s squad is strong enough to win promotion back to the Premier League, making this claim to The Star.

The Blades have suffered with injuries and suspensions in recent games, though the latter is just the tip of the iceberg with the former being the main issue for Paul Heckingbottom, especially in defence.

Enda Stevens, Max Lowe and Rhys Norrington-Davies have all been unavailable as options on the left-hand side, with George Baldock and Jayden Bogle also spending time on the sidelines this season.

Quiz: Which English club do these 24 ex-Sheffield United players play for now?

1 of 24

Gary Madine

Sheffield Wednesday Bolton Wanderers Blackpool Cardiff City

And in central defence, they were forced to revert to a back four away at Stoke City earlier this month with Anel Ahmedhodzic, Jack Robinson, Jack O’Connell and Ciaran Clark all out of action at that point.

Ahmedhodzic and Robinson have returned since – but their injury woes haven’t just been limited to their defence with John Fleck only just coming back from a broken leg and Sander Berge remaining out – with their front line perhaps being their strongest department through their injury crisis.

When they do have the vast majority of players fully fit though, they could be a real force like they were during the early stages of this season and Davies believes they have the players to sustain a promotion push.

He said: “Promotion is what we want and we have a squad to be able to do it. So hopefully that spark is back and we can carry that on Saturday against West Brom.”

The Verdict:

They do have the ingredients at their disposal to keep themselves at the right end of the division, something that can be easily recognised when looking through their squad.

Davies may have made a mistake – but he will provide good competition for Wes Foderingham who has been exceptional since becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet at Bramall Lane.

They also have some exceptional assets in defence with Republic of Ireland international John Egan, the reliable Chris Basham and the bright Ahmedhodzic, with good competition at left and right wing-back when most of their options are available.

In central midfield, they will have been delighted to keep hold of Sander Berge, with Ollie Norwood and John Fleck also able to be real assets in this division along with Tommy Doyle.

In a more advanced role, James McAtee and Reda Khadra should provide the service needed for Oliver McBurnie, Billy Sharp, Rhian Brewster, Iliman Ndiaye and Daniel Jebbison to thrive.