"Our future" - Key Sheffield United man offers chink of light from Bournemouth wreckage ahead of Burnley clash

The positives from Saturday's shocker at home to Bournemouth were few and far between for Sheffield United but the promising display of one of their starlets off the bench may offer a chink of light amongst the wreckage. The Blades' limp display against their relegation rivals saw them outclassed and beaten 3-1 on their own turf, falling four points off safety in the process.

The manner of defeat, rather than defeat itself, was concerning for many Blades fans, who made their feelings known with a chorus of boos at the final whistle. They finished the game with less possession than the hosts and just two shots on target - one Oli McBurnie's consolation goal, deep into seven minutes of added time, and the other a well-struck shot from substitute Will Osula that forced Neto to push behind.

The Danish youth international also had another good opening when he broke powerfully and saw his shot blocked and despite only coming on in the 81st minute, was close to being named as The Star's Blades man of the match before McBurnie's late header. Osula returned to Bramall Lane full of confidence after the recent international break saw him on target for his country's age group and his performance will surely have given boss Paul Heckingbottom something to think about going into this weekend's crunch trip to bottom club Burnley.

Osula is highly-thought of at Bramall Lane, having recently been handed a new contract, and despite being yet to score his first senior goal for the Blades has been hailed as "key" by former striker turned respected pundit, Carl Asaba. "This boy is our future," Asaba told SUTV after the Bournemouth game. "He was so positive. The fans, these fans, are with the players.

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"They’re desperate for them to do well. You don’t have to go past 10 players with silky skills to get these fans onside. Just be positive, and Osula did it when he came on. McBunie did it. Now you’ve got to understand that’s a positive for us, so let’s focus on these two strikers and [Cameron] Archer. Our team needs to attack. You can’t be passive, because that’s not our strength."

Despite their Bournemouth display, Asaba believes United's players should take confidence going to Turf Moor after their clashes with Burnley last season. United were 5-2 winners at Bramall Lane and were well in the return leg before Wes Foderingham saw red in an eventual 2-0 defeat in Lancashire. After winning the Championship title last season, Vincent Kompany's side are also struggling in the Premier League and face the Blades on the back of seven straight defeats in all competitions.

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"This is our chance for our players to get out there and put today out of mind," Asaba added. "It’s gone now; let’s get back to the good bits that we’ve had this season and go forward. You’ve got McBurnie coming back - hopefully he will be fit enough to start because he adds another dimension to the team and defending set pieces, he is one of our best headers.

"I think it will give the whole team a boost, him being in the mix. But then also you’ve got Osula, who looked so positive when he came on. We were losing at home, it would be easy for him to get the ball and cut back and try and keep possession. But no, he had one thing on his mind; be positive and he raised the crowd. I’m now thinking towards next week. Today has gone, and the points are there."