Sky Sports pundit insists Slavisa Jokanovic has to find a place in the Sheffield United side for one player | OneFootball

Sky Sports EFL pundit Keith Andrews has insisted that Slavisa Jokanovic has to find a place in his starting line-up for David McGoldrick following his recent cameo against Stoke City.

McGoldrick has managed to make just three starts for Sheffield United in the Championship so far this term with another three appearances coming from the bench.

The experienced forward was once again left on the bench on Saturday against Stoke, but with the Blades having gone a goal behind Jokanovic made the decision to introduce him into the action with 13 minutes left to play.

That was a decision that was well rewarded with McGoldrick playing an instrumental role in turning the game around and helping the Blades secure three vital points. The 33-year-old’s inventiveness for the equalising goal saw him interchange passes with Billy Sharp before setting up Lys Mousset to make it 1-1.

He was then able to complete his performance from the bench by grabbing the winning goal himself for his first Championship goal of the campaign.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ latest EFL podcast, Andrews insisted that Jokanovic now has to find a way to get McGoldrick into his side because he could make the difference for them in terms of unlocking their other attacking talents.

He said: “He’s such an intelligent player I think he’s very different to the options that he (Jokanovic) has at the top end of the pitch, he seems to have hung his hat on Billy Sharp being that focal point and then Ndiaye playing just off to give that energy and penetration from that nine and half, ten position.

“But you have to try and find a place for David McGoldrick if he’s playing, he’s the perfect link-up from midfield into those attacking areas, very intelligent player.”

The verdict

You would have to agree with Andrews here and McGoldrick seems like the sort of player that could be the key to unlocking defences for Sheffield United this season with his vision and quality in possession.

There is no doubt that he added a different dynamic to the side against Stoke and that was vital in helping the Blades get themselves back into a winning position from behind.

Jokanovic has been shown exactly what the 33-year-old can bring to the table now and he seems to be a good fit potentially for that number ten role behind Sharp. It, therefore, means that the Sheffield United manager has a major decision to make in the next few weeks.

McGoldrick can not really do more than he did against Stoke, so it will be interesting to see whether he is handed the chance to start games in the next few matches and see what he can do.