Sheffield United: Is this the most intelligent footballer at Bramall Lane?

Their last win was all about personality and temperament.
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Sheffield United v Middlesbrough: Paul Heckingbottom's coming of age moment make...

As the defeated manager acknowledged afterwards: “When you play in big games, you need to be able to stick your chest out and show you’re a big game player.”

But Sheffield United were calculating as well as combative during Tuesday’s win over Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough. No one more so than Ben Osborn, whose tactical nous and strategic intelligence appears to have helped Paul Heckingbottom one of the selection issues which was threatening to undermine his team’s push for promotion from the Championship.

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Signed from Nottingham Forest midway through Wilder’s reign at Bramall Lane, Osborn was initially acquired to perform a role in midfield as United attempted to establish themselves in the Premier League. But Heckingbottom’s predecessor also admitted the 27-year-old is also versatile enough to operate in defence - something he did with great success as, with George Baldock nursing an injury and Femi Seriki still short of experience, United beat the visitors from Teesside 4-1.

“One of the things we really like about Ben is his understanding of the game,” Heckingbottom explained, as United finalised their preparations for Saturday’s match at Coventry City. “He grasps the different things that are required of him, how different ideas and different positions work, straight away and then goes out there and does it.

“There aren’t many out there who can do it as well as he does. He’s a really good player. He’s a really intelligent one too.”

Fifth in the table and only five points behind second placed AFC Bournemouth, although Scott Parker’s side boast two games in hand, Osborn is expected to deputise at wing-back again if Baldock’s knee problem fails to respond to treatment.

Ben Osborn performed well at wing-back against Middlesbrough: Simon Bellis / SportimageBen Osborn performed well at wing-back against Middlesbrough: Simon Bellis / Sportimage
Ben Osborn performed well at wing-back against Middlesbrough: Simon Bellis / Sportimage
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Out of contract at the end of the campaign, Osborn recently confessed he has no idea if United want to keep him beyond the summer. Whether they go up or not, Heckingbottom is unlikely to want to lose someone as adaptable as Osborn. So the final decision on his future is likely to be taken higher up United’s chain of command.

“Ben is a really bright footballer,” Heckingbottom said. “You have to be, to be able to do what he does even when it isn’t his preferred position.”