How two Sheffield United-linked stars fared against Premier League opposition in the Europa League

Sheffield United's recruitment team have outdone themselves in recent times, scouring Europe and beyond for exciting young talents - a process which saw the likes of £22 million record signing Sander Berge and promising defender Panagiotis Retsos join last month.
(Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)(Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

With the end of the season now in sight, the Blades are continuing to monitor potential targets to sign in the summer, as Wilder's side look to consolidate their top tier status next season.

Two players who have been heavily-linked with the club are Olympiakos 'midfielder Mady Camara and Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis, and both players featured in the Europa League against Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.

Here's a look at how they got on...

Mady Camara - Olympiakos

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The technically-gifted 22-year-old was the pick of the Greek side's midfield three, and put in a spirited performance despite his side losing 1-0 to Mikel Arteta's men.

His passing was slick, with 31 out of 36 of them reaching their intended target, and his arching, long passes looking particularly impressive.

Camara's shooting, however, wasn't the best, with all three of his attempted shots missing the target, and the Guinea international tackling was just above average, winning 55% of them.

While not yet the finished product, he's clearly a player bursting with potential, and looked more than up to the challenge of coping with the rigours of Premier League football.

Emmanuel Dennis - Club Brugge

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He made headlines across Europe after scoring twice at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid earlier in the season, in a 2-2 draw during the group stages of the Champions League.

Within two minutes last night he managed to stitch Harry Maguire up like a kipper, bursting onto a quickly-taken throw-in and cutting inside the Bladesman some devastating flair - they very nearly scored from the move, too.

The Nigeria international was on the scoresheet 13 minutes later, as he raced onto a long ball from goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, took the ball first time and chipped it over the stranded Sergio Romero from 30-odd yards.

He almost had an assist in the second half - after once again turning Maguire inside out - and looked a potent attacking threat.

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All three of his shots were on target, and he achieved an impressive 74% success rate with his passing. He looked highly-energetic, and played a key role in some relentless team pressing that gave United's defenders a real headache throughout the game.

Of the 46 duels he was involved in, however, he only emerged successful on 16 occasions. Dennis certainly looks to have an eye for the big occasion, and could add some further dynamism to the Blades' attack.