Sheffield United urged against sealing Liverpool FC transfer - They should "look at Leeds United" | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit has given his verdict on the club's interest in Liverpool youngster Lewis Koumas

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…

Lewis Koumas has emerged as a potential transfer option for Sheffield United this summer.

It has been reported by the Daily Mail that the Blades are keen on the Liverpool youngster following his loan stint with Stoke City last season.

Highly-rated back at Liverpool, Koumas' first loan move away from the club was a mixed one as he contributed to just three goals and two assists from 43 Championship appearances.

However, that hasn't deterred second-tier clubs from pursuing his services and the winger has been linked with a move to the Blades, who will now be looking to plot a fresh promotion push under new head coach Ruben Selles after parting ways with Chris Wilder following last season's play-off final defeat to Sunderland.

Sheffield United issued Lewis Koumas warning

When asked about the prospect of signing Koumas, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy, from Blades Ramble, warned against the move, if completed as a loan.

He believes the forward isn’t good enough yet to be competing at the top end of the Championship, suggesting they should only complete loan moves for players that will get regular game time as part of a promotion push.

In Jimmy's view, the Blades should be trying to emulate cross-Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, who had a wealth of top-class wide options in Dan James, Manor Solomon, Willy Gnonto and Largie Ramazani as Daniel Farke's side scooped the Championship title last term.

Jimmy has claimed that Koumas would not get into either Leeds or Burnley's 24/25 promotion-winning sides, and as such, he believes his club should look elsewhere if they want to go up automatically next time out.

“I’m not hugely excited at the prospect of Lewis Koumas coming in, particularly if it’s on loan,” Jimmy told Football League World.

“I’m not sure he improves us significantly.

“We certainly do need wingers, if we’re going to continue playing the way we did under Chris Wilder, or we’ve no wingers in the squad

“If Selles wants to utilise wingers in any way, we need to get some bodies in.

“But it shouldn’t just be for the sake of them being wingers. We should be looking at quality additions.

“You look particularly at how Leeds United went about it last season, Manor Solomon, Dan James, Willy Gnonto and Ramazani, they are top, top wingers at the level.

“Would Lewis Koumas have gotten into Leeds or Burnley’s squad last season? I’m not entirely sure.

“I always think with loan players you should be looking to bring players in you couldn’t get on a permanent basis because they are that well thought of at their parent club, or they’d cost an absolute fortune.

“So, Lewis Koumas doesn’t excite me.

“I’m not particularly concerned with his output last season because he was in a poor Stoke side, alongside Tom Cannon, who got 10 goal contributions in the first half of the season but, perhaps they could link up a little bit if they’re familiar with how each other play.

“But it doesn’t excite me as a signing, I’ll be completely honest.

“If it was a permanent purchase, I could see the benefit, obviously with him growing with us, but as a loan signing I don’t think he’d impact the first team, which is surely the purpose of a loan.”

Sheffield United appointed Selles after the team narrowly missed out on promotion under Chris Wilder, losing the play-off final to Sunderland after coming third in the league.

Koumas loan could work out for Sheffield United

Koumas’ performance levels weren’t consistently strong last season at Stoke, but he was receiving regular game time at the age of only 19.

There are no guarantees that he will perform better in the next campaign, but it could be a bet worth taking as there is every chance his development will see an improvement in his game.

Sheffield United will need to bolster their attacking options this summer, Koumas on loan could at the very least add some depth on top of permanent additions from elsewhere.

It might not be the most exciting deal on paper, but it has the potential to be a smart move if Koumas does take a step forward in his development under Selles.