Tom Davies keen to repay Sheffield United faith as boss earmarks ex-Everton man for big role after injury return

Tom Davies has been earmarked for a key role at Sheffield United this summer when he returns from injury, with boss Chris Wilder insisting that his availability will have the feel of a new signing. The former Everton prodigy has had a troublesome Bramall Lane career so far since arriving last summer, making just nine appearances for the Blades.

Seven of those were off the bench as he looked to get up to speed after missing pre-season with United, but his hopes of making up for lost time this season were frustrated by a hamstring issue that saw him travel in the summer to a neuroscience clinic in Munich that had previously been used by Manuel Neuer and David Alaba.

United are a little light of experience in the middle of the park, beyond first-choice pairing of Oliver Arblaster and Vini Souza, with Wilder keen to sign midfield reinforcements in the last transfer window before eventually conceding defeat. But the return of Davies, a man whose career has been spent exclusively in the Premier League with his boyhood club before this season, will be an undeniable boost.

"Tom's working away from the lights and as soon as we can get him back to the group, it'll be like signing a new player,” Wilder said. “It's been an incredibly difficult 13, 14 months for Tom. It’s not the way he wanted it to go but if we do get him back up to speed, there's a guy there who wants to be out there.

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“We talk regularly with him. He’s really frustrated because he feels he’s not contributed anything, or contributed very little. But when he does start to contribute, he’ll contribute in a big way and he’ll be a big player for us.”

Speaking earlier this summer, Davies admitted he wanted to repay the faith placed in him by United with performances on the pitch and when asked if there was a tentative timescale in place for the return of the former England U21 international, Wilder - whose side went into the current international break unbeaten in the Championship and eighth in the table - admitted: “It'll be possibly the second international break, October time, when he starts getting minutes.”