Sheffield United loan star reveals how Bramall Lane move has benefitted his career

The 22-year-old already has 116 senior appearances under his belt, but 53 of his 66 games for parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers have come from the bench after struggling to command a regular starting place at Molineux.

There is certainly no shame in that, considering Wolves’ recent trajectory towards a place in Europe and the top end of the Premier League, but a loan spell to Bramall Lane has got Gibbs-White fit and firing again.

And, more importantly, smiling.

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“It’s benefitted me massively, coming here,” Gibbs-White admitted, ahead of tonight’s crunch Championship clash at home to Blackburn Rovers.

“Being a young player and going from not playing, to getting 10 minutes here and there and then to playing regularly, it’s going to help me grow.

“A few of the [Wolves] staff members keep in contact, to see how I’m getting on and enjoying it. They can see that there’s a smile on my face every time I go on the pitch.

"I’ve always known I had the ability; it’s just having the belief and confidence.

"That can be down low when you’re not playing. It’s just a breath of fresh air when you’re playing, and you want that to keep going.”

An England U21 international, Gibbs-White played four times for Swansea City last season and haunted his old club with two goals and an assist on Saturday in the Blades’ 4-0 win.

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United’s form under Paul Heckingbottom led to Gibbs-White labelling the Blades as the “most feared team in the Championship right now”.

Gibbs-White is surely right up there amongst the most feared players in English football’s second tier, and the young man is certainly enjoying the ride.

“From the moment I came in, the boys have been incredible,” he added. “It’s a really good group of boys who are really together, on and off the field.

“Even with Slav [Slavisa Jokanović, Heckingbottom’s predecessor] we had an identity, it just wasn’t coming off.

“Hecky has made us believe again and I think that’s definitely helped the boys push on. Look at the results we’ve had since he came in.”

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