Sheffield United look to be headed to the playoffs in the Championship this season, but you can’t help but feel that the Blades should be in a much stronger position right now.
Indeed, Chris Wilder was on course to establish the south Yorkshire outfit as a mid-table Premier League side before the pandemic hit, while the Blades have also missed out on something of a golden generation from their academy.
United have had some absolute stars pass through Bramall Lane in recent years, and with that in mind, we’re going to look at how the Steel City outfit could have lined up if they’d kept all of their young stars.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale
Sheffield United sold Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal for £30m this summer, but the goalkeeper was a product of the Blades’ academy before joining Bournemouth.
Ramsdale would eventually rejoin Sheffield United before going on to become a star at Arsenal.
The Gunners’ number one looks like he could be an England regular for years to come.
RB: Kyle Walker
Arguably the most accomplished player in this team. Kyle Walker has been a Premier League regular for over a decade now.
Walker was a star at Spurs, but it’s at Manchester City where he’s peaked, winning multiple Premier League titles and reaching a Champions League final with the Cityzens.
CB: Harry Maguire
There’s also a former Blade turning out for the red side of Manchester. Harry Maguire is the Red Devils’ captain and an England regular.
Whether or not he’s a £80m player is up for debate, but there’s no doubting that he’s a more than capable centre-half when he’s at his best.
CB: Matt Lowton
Naturally a right-back, Matt Lowton can also play at centre-half.
Lowton may not be the most exciting player in this team, but with over 200 Premier League appearances to his name, the 32-year-old has had a more than respectable career at the top level of the English game.
LB: Kyle Naughton
Kyle Naughton hasn’t had the career of Kyle Walker, but when both men were coming through at Bramall Lane, Naughton was seen as the brighter prospect.
The full-back has had a solid career, playing 176 Premier League games for the likes of Tottenham, Norwich and Swansea.
CM: Sander Berge
Sheffield United haven’t produced many quality midfielders in recent years, but they did sign one of the brightest young midfielders in Europe back in 2020.
Sander Berge was being linked to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, but United swooped in and landed the big Norwegian.
He’s not lived up to his potential as of yet, but he’s been improving in recent weeks.
CM: John Fleck
The Blades’ academy has really struggled to produce a top-class midfielder over the past decade, and it’s hard to imagine any former young Blades taking John Fleck’s spot in this starting XI.
AM: Iliman Ndiaye
Sheffield United’s current boy wonder. 21-year-old Iliman Ndiaye has made a real splash in the Championship this season.
A progressive attacking midfielder, Ndiaye is brilliant on the ball and has an eye for goal.
This is certainly a player to keep an eye on in the coming years.
RW: David Brooks
David Brooks was almost immediately a Bramall Lane hero as he took the Steel City Derby by the scruff of the neck back in 2017.
Almost as soon as Brooks burst onto the scene, he was gone as Bournemouth snapped him up and he made his mark in the Premier League.
Sadly, Brooks’ career has been halted by illness, and we can only hope that he’ll get well soon and get back to where he belongs.
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Another England international in this team. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has really established himself as a star at Everton.
Sadly, he’s stalled this season due to injury, but with Arsenal sniffing around, it may not be long before the centre-forward is playing in the Champions League.
LW: Che Adams
Ever-improving at Southampton, Che Adams made a real name for himself at Sheffield United in their 2015 League Cup run.
Since then, he’s played for both Birmingham and Southampton, establishing himself as a Scotland international in the process.
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