Celtic and Brentford summer interest in now Sheffield United star now makes sense | OneFootball

Harrison Burrows has been a standout for the Blades, and it makes sense as to why he was courted by higher clubs in the summer

Sheffield United beat some strong competition to sign left-back Harrison Burrows' in the summer transfer window, and his capture has proven a key one so far this season.

The Blades are flying high in the Championship off the back of their dismal Premier League relegation season last year, and currently sit in third place, joint on points with top two Leeds United and Sunderland, as they head into a busy winter schedule.

Boss Chris Wilder was hampered in the summer transfer market by the club's potential takeover status, but he still managed to bring in key names such as Harry Souttar, Michael Cooper, Kieffer Moore and Callum O'Hare, as well as left-back Burrows, who joined from Peterborough United in a deal believed to be worth an initial £3m.

Burrows was one of League One's premier full-backs, and players, during his time with the Posh, and his talents have seemingly transferred seamlessly to the Championship so far this term at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United so far

Burrows was United's fifth summer addition as he joined in late July, and reports from the Peterborough Telegraph claimed that the Blades' initial £3m deal had another £3m in performance-based incentives on top, following his exploits at the Weston Homes Stadium that saw him pick up the League One Player of the Year award last season.

The 22-year-old made his debut for the club in their season-opening 2-0 win at Preston North End, and completed 90 minutes at Deepdale as boss Wilder heralded his performance as "outstanding all game," and was adamant that Burrows would "grow" with the team throughout the season.

Not only have Wilder's side largely continued in a strong vein of form since the opening day, but Burrows has certainly made the Blades' left-back spot his own so far this term, and missed just two league games out of 15 so far.

He started in all of United's first eight league outings, as they went unbeaten, then was rested for the visit of Luton Town to allow fellow summer signing Sam McCallum his first league start for the club.

Burrows has started in six of the Blades' last seven games, and even netted his first goal for the club against Blackburn with a trademark fierce drive into the bottom right corner, then followed that up with a similar finish for an injury-time winner at Bristol City just three days later.

Burrows has announced himself on the Championship scene with aplomb, and to be keeping a player like McCallum out of the team, who has over 115 career appearances in the second-tier, shows just how highly-rated he is by Wilder and his coaches, and how impressive he has been this season.

Sheffield United beat tough competition to sign Burrows

The mark of a young player plying their trade in the lower leagues is how often they are linked with a move to a higher-placed club, and Burrows was perennially mooted with a move away from the Posh throughout his time there, with the likes of Celtic and Brentford both reportedly interested in his services at certain stages of his short career.

According to Football Scotland, the Hoops enquired about Burrows early in the January transfer window midway through last season, but then decided against progressing forward with talks or following up on that approach with Peterborough.

Premier League outfit Brentford, as well as newly-promoted Ipswich Town, were also credited with being 'front-runners' to sign Burrows, according to the Peterborough Telegraph, via EFL Hub, but nothing came of the Bees' or the Tractor Boys' apparent interest.

The likes of Leeds United, Norwich City, Preston North End, Coventry City and Portsmouth all also reportedly tracked the 22-year-old, but seemingly stood little chance with the recently-relegated Blades able to offer a large bid to match Peterborough's valuation and steal a march on their competitors to land their man.

Wilder, and Sheffield United fans alike, will ultimately be very pleased that they managed to sign Burrows ahead of this season, and he looks set to play a huge part in their bid for an immediate promotion back to the top-flight this term, and will surely go on to make the club a lot of money if he continues to impress and is sold on to a top team in the years to come.