Sheffield United sign “intelligent” new striker on loan in pole position

Sheffield United are reportedly favorites to land the “intelligent” new striker on loan this month to boost their chances of an immediate return to the Premier League.

Sheffield United news and updates

Sheffield United are going through a difficult spell at the moment, with Chris Wilder’s side having won just one of their last five games in all competitions. Losses to promotion rivals Sunderland and Burnley in the Championship have dented their chances of automatic promotion, while more recently, defeat to struggling Cardiff City in the FA Cup saw them knocked out in the third round of the tournament.

A lone goal from Bluebirds striker Cian Ashford was enough to beat United, who reached the semi-finals just two seasons ago.

Speaking to reporters after his team’s relegation from the FA Cup, Wilder said he was “disappointed with some of the guys because they should have been better.”

“There was an opportunity for those who didn’t play a lot of football to impress but that’s where we are at the moment,” he explained: “I’d like it to look a lot better than those who played the opportunity, we gave the ball away in bad areas but we were rallying the team and expected to flow, they probably did the same and managed to advance better than us.”

The Blades are now in pole position to sign Brereton Diaz

To try and get their season back on track, United are reportedly favorites to re-sign Ben Brereton Diaz on loan from Southampton in January due to player preferences. Brereton Diaz spent the second half of last season on loan at Bramall Lane, scoring six goals in 16 games before completing a permanent move to St. Mary’s.

However, the Chilean international has since struggled for playing time with the Saints, starting in just four Premier League games.

According to Sky Sports News, Southampton now want to offload Diazand although Sunderland and Blackburn have made approaches for him, the 25-year-old would only consider a return to United.

Sky reports that Diaz’s partner is due to give birth to their child soon, so he will only consider a move that suits his family. If he can’t return to United, the forward is “happy to stay at St Mary’s and fight for his place”.

The former Blackburn sensation played 35 times against Chile, scoring seven goals. In 2022, he was named Chilean footballer of the year. Speaking about the striker in the 2-0 defeat to South Korea in June that year, said former Chile boss Eduardo Berizzo: “Brereton is very intelligent in his movement and found himself behind opposing defenders several times.

“He was not given a goal, but he is a footballer with many qualities, he made a great performance despite the fact that his league in England stopped a long time ago. He is a player with interesting movements. He will be an important reference for us.”