Sheffield United could bring their next McAtee to a “gorgeous” PL gem

Sheffield United fans will already be dreaming of an immediate return to the Premier League, as Chris Wilder’s well-drilled Blades currently sit just outside the top two in Priority.

Obviously, the hard work isn’t over yet, with much of the season still to go, but Wilder has already been here with the South Yorkshire outfit and managed to secure a dramatic promotion to League One.

Even when the passionate 57-year-old was away from Bramall Lane, United tasted similar glory, with Paul Heckingbottom engineering his own promotion season during the 2022/23 campaign.

Of course, United were then relegated back to the second division, but James McAtee still stands today as a positive loan during the memorable previous season.

McAtee’s time at Sheffield United

Now struggling on the sidelines at Manchester City and vying for another promotion, McAtee must have felt he had a temporary haven in South Yorkshire when he called the Blades home for two years.

Indeed, his heroics during his first loan spell at the club made him an instant fan favourite, raising nine goals and three assists in league action to guide his team to the promised land of the Premier League.

He would reaffirm his status as a beloved star by continuing to excel even as his side finished bottom of the pile following promotion, with three goals and three assists tallied, before returning to the Etihad in the hope that his time would finally come for Pep Guardiola’s men.

It didn’t turn out that way, even as McAtee is being watched by United’s promotion rivals in the Leeds Unitedno such deal will be struck to return home in January to return to the Blades for a third term.

Instead, the promotion chasers set their sights on another promising Premier League youngster in a similar mold to McAtee, who himself has already made waves in the demanding second division.

Sheffield United could land the next McAtee

According to the report from Daily Mail Online earlier this week, the Blades will be hoping they can strike gold with another top starlet tipped to be big in the signing of Lewis Koumas, who is currently out on loan at Stoke City.

Koumas has emerged as a bright spark for the Potters, even during turbulent times at the Staffordshire side that have seen a managerial change and the 19-year-old pile on four goals and two assists in a total of 29 outings.

Far from mirroring each other in terms of putting up outrageous figures for his parent clubs at youth level, Koumas will also be hoping he can be as influential as the 22-year-old was at Bramall Lane in 2022, aiming to steer his new loan spell towards promotion.

After all, when Koumas was pushed deep previously in his short senior career, he excelled, with the teenager scoring on his senior Liverpool debut after wrong-checking the Southampton keeper with this follow-up effort, which led to the labeling of the then manager Jurgen Klopp his contribution as “wonderfully” and Anfield which gave him a standing ovation.

With Koumas also fit to play across the entire midfield positions, and even as a competent striker, would also be a valuable boost in helping to fill the gaps in United’s injury-depleted squad, with Gustavo Hamer one of the main absentees in midfield.

Wilder will be confident his side can push through to those automatic promotion places – regardless of those injury problems – with any deal coming through the door certainly not hurting their chances.