Sheffield United XI If They Had Kept Their Best Players

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Sheffield United have sold some quality players over the years, here’s what their starting XI could look like now if they hadn’t.

Phil Jagielka takes over in goal from an injured Paddy Kenny

Sheffield United are currently in their sixth consecutive season in League One, and it’s now a decade since they last played in the Premier League. Yet things could have been so different for the Blades, had they just managed to hang on to a few more of their star assets.

We have created a Sheffield United ‘what-if’ XI which shows some of the quality which has departed Bramall Lane in recent times, as well as a couple of current stars who we feel would still be good enough to make the cut.

It is a starting XI which would blitz League One and probably compete at the top end of the Championship. Here is our Sheffield United XI if they had kept their best players:

Kyle Walker in action for England at Euro 2016

Goalkeeper: George Long

One of the weaker areas in this XI it is fair to say. A more youthful Paddy Kenny would be preferable, but on current form, we think a 22-year-old George Long beats a 38-year-old Paddy Kenny. Despite his limited years, Long has already played more than 100 league games for the Blades and been capped by England at youth level.

Left-Back: Kyle Naughton

Capable of playing as either a right-back or left-back, it is the latter that Naughton accommodates in this XI, due to the presence of Kyle Walker at right-back. Naughton made 50 appearances for Sheffield United, all in a single season and all as a teenager.

Having impressed sufficiently, he and Walker joined Tottenham for a combined fee of £9 million in 2009. After 74 appearances for Spurs, the full-back joined Swansea in 2014.

Centre-Back: Harry Maguire

A goal scorer midweek for Hull City as they progressed to the EFL Cup quarterfinals, Harry Maguire was once part of Sheffield United’s impressive cup run which took them to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 2014, which they incidentally lost to Hull City.

Maguire was a big favourite at Bramall Lane, making 166 appearances and scoring 12 goals. He left the club to join Hull in 2014 for £2.5 million.

Centre-Back: Phil Jagielka

A Sheffield United legend and a man who would surely captain this ‘what-if’ XI, Phil Jagielka was already attracting top flight interest in the 2002/03 season, but showed loyalty greater than is commonly shown in the modern game, remaining with the club until 2007.

During his seven years in the Blades defence, Jagielka made 287 appearances, scored 22 goals and won the club’s Player of the Year award three times. He eventually joined Everton for £4 million, where he has gone on to play 329 games and win 39 caps for England.

Centre-Back: Matthew Lowton or Matthew Kilgallon

Burnley’s Matthew Lowton in action with Watford’s Odion Ighalo

It’s a choice of two Matthew’s as the third central defender here, although on current ability you’d probably have to go with Matthew Lowton. The 27-year-old is a regular in the Premier League for Burnley, and although predominantly a right-back, he can play in the centre of defence. Lowton made 89 appearances in 5 years at Bramall Lane, before joining Aston Villa for £3 million.

Kilgallon had the more successful Blades career, but is currently plying his trade for Bradford. The former Leeds defender made 124 appearances for United in three years, winning the Supporters’ Player of the Year, before joining Sunderland for a fee believed to be £2 million.

Right-Back: Kyle Walker

A Sheffield lad, Kyle Walker made only 7 appearances for the Blades before being snapped up by Tottenham in a joint deal with Kyle Naughton. He returned in 2009/10, making 28 appearances, and has gone on to play 197 games for Spurs and win 22 caps for England.

Central Midfield: Stephen Quinn

Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles in action with Reading’s Stephen Quinn

A very tidy left-footed midfield player, Stephen Quinn played 231 games for Sheffield United over 7 years, before joining Hull City for peanuts. Quinn represented the Blades in the Premier League, Championship and League One, winning the clubs Player of the Year award in 2011.

Central Midfield: Kevin McDonald

A player with excellent passing and vision, Kevin McDonald spent just 2 years at Bramall Lane, but was a virtual ever present and made a big impression. He left the club in 2013, joining Wolves, for a reported fee of just £750,000. He now plays for Fulham in the Championship.

Attacking Midfield: Jamie Murphy

A fellow Scot, we have rather shoe-horned Jamie Murphy into an attacking midfield role. Predominantly a left winger, Murphy did previously play through the middle at Sheffield United, and even as a centre-forward at times.

The 27-year-old former Motherwell man played 121 games for the Blades, scoring 21 goals, before joining Brighton last year for a fee believed to be just shy of £2 million.

Centre-Forward: Billy Sharp

Captain Billy Sharp celebrates scoring for the Blades

The second current Blade to make this starting XI, United have previously sold the striker twice, but he is now back in his third spell at Bramall Lane. Having struggled in his first two stints at the club, Sharp has had no such problems this time around.

League One is a division where the 30-year-old thrives, and he has a better than 1 in 2 record for his hometown club, having scored 30 goals in 58 games.

Centre-Forward: Lyle Taylor

There was a lot of excitement surrounding Lyle Taylor when he joined Sheffield United in 2013, having scored 29 goals the previous season at Falkirk. He proved a disappointment though, and departed Bramall Lane after a single season.

He seems to have found his mojo once more though, and with 21 goals for Wimbledon last season and 6 already this campaign, he’d be a prolific partner for Sharp in attack.

Where would Sheffield United be with this starting XI?