Former Sheffield United £1m man plays key role as highly-rated young Blade leaves Bramall Lane
Former Sheffield United £1m man John Ebbrell played a key part in the move that saw highly-rated young Blade Sydie Peck join National League club Oldham Athletic on loan today.
The 18-year-old joined United after leaving Arsenal and will initially spend a month with the Latics, who are managed by another ex-Blade in David Unsworth. Ebbrell played just 45 minutes of first-team football for the Blades after signing for £1m from Everton, where he later worked with Unsworth as a coach after hanging up his boots.
“I want to thank Paul Heckingbottom at Sheffield United for trusting us with one of their best young players, if not their very best,” said Unsworth. “We’ve had Sydie watched now a number of times and I went to see him myself last week play against Burnley. He was the best player on the pitch in that match, he’s an all-action midfielder and even though he’s a young age, he is a man.
“He’s the sort of young player we’re looking for alongside the senior players we’ve got. John has got an excellent relationship with Sheffield United. It’s also a club I know well and we want to maintain and grow that. They’ve got a great academy, it’s a real hotbed and Sydie is hopefully the first player of many we can use.”
Peck recently travelled with United’s squad for their away game at Bristol City after being earmarked as a possible future star by United’s academy staff. He will wear the No.28 shirt for the Latics and could make his debut this weekend when Unsworth’s side face Barnet at home.
