After his weakened Sheffield United lost 1-0 to Cardiff City in the FA Cup, it is clear that Chris Wilder’s main priorities as Blades manager lie in winning promotion outside Priority.
The South Yorkshire side won’t want to overstay their welcome in League Two, with the recently relegated outfitters making the jump to the Premier League looking to their not-so-distant past, having successfully climbed to the promised land at the end of the 2018/19 season and 2022/23 campaign .
Wilder will be hoping a third time is on the horizon very soon, with a new striker in mind now this January to push his side into automatic promotion reckoning.
Sheffield United enter the race for the EFL’s best striker
As a football journalist Alan Nixonautomatic promotion contenders have now entered a frenzied race to try and pick up Tom Cannon, with there communicated termination clause in his current loan spell at Stoke City.
With Mark Robins’ men also recalling striker Nathan Lowe from his own loan spell at Walsall, it could be that the Potters will have to offload the powerful 22-year-old at some point this term, with the likes of Sunderland also snooping around with Blades.
What Tom Cannon could offer Sheffield United
The former Preston North End man being linked with a move to Bramall Lane could mean Wilder’s men are considering alternatives to Ben Brereton-Diaz. Chilean national team player is associated with return to his former employers, but Cannon would undoubtedly be an upgrade on the uncapped striker.
Indeed, signing Cannon for the Black Cats could also give the Blades that cutting edge in any promotion race that follows, with his potential United teammates licking their chops at the prospect of linking up with such a clinical goalscorer.
After all, you can’t go wrong with Cannon’s current goalscoring form for Stoke, with Republic of Ireland caps to 11 strikes now in all competitionsin which this dramatic late winner also found himself at the very end of December.
On the contrary, while the 22-year-old was setting the second division on fire, Brereton-Diaz had a seriously low confidence playing in the league above with Southampton, having scored just four starts for his lower employers in the Premier League.
He didn’t even break his Saints duck, with a bumper £7m slapped by South Coast last year looks like a big waste of money.
There is no guarantee that Brereton-Diaz will be able to get back up to speed even when downgrading, even if he has previously lifted a substantial 53 goals on the level.
Whereas in Cannon you have a striker who is the flavor of the month and continues to play at the peak of his powers, having been labeled as “crazy” reporter Pete Smith’s finisher earlier in the campaign when he incredibly scored four goals in one clash for the Potters.
He could take his game to the next level at the Blades playing alongside Callum O’Hare, who has fitted in seamlessly into his new surroundings in Sheffield this season as a creative threat after waving goodbye to Coventry City.
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O’Hare’s G/A numbers in the championship |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games played |
Goals scored |
Assists |
|
24/25 |
26 |
2 |
5 |
|
23/24 |
31 |
6 |
3 |
|
22/23 |
11 |
0 |
3 |
|
21/22 |
45 |
5 |
8 |
|
20/21 |
46 |
3 |
8 |
|
Source: Transfermarkt |
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The enigmatic offensive midfielder added up to the total 16 goals and 28 assists playing in the second division to date, with Cannon’s numbers in front of goal perhaps increased by playing alongside exceptional talents like O’Hare week in and week out.
While the Blades already have Kieffer Moore and Tyrese Campbell up top, Cannon could give the promotion hopefuls something fresh and exciting and could prove to be the difference-maker that takes them back to the top flight.
