Romelle Donovan refusing to play by modern football rules as stats highlight Sheffield United impact
Romelle Donovan has quickly caught the eye at Sheffield United - and the winger explained to The Star’s Danny Hall why he has no intention of playing safe...
Speak to anyone who has worked with Romelle Donovan in his short career so far and one word repeatedly crops up to describe the Sheffield United winger: “Fearless.” The 19-year-old is making an impression at Bramall Lane in only his second senior loan.
He joined in the summer as a replacement for Andre Brooks and has won over Unitedites with not just his ability on the ball, but his tenacity off it as well. After a spell on the sidelines he returned to the United side and helped them get their season up and running with a good run before the international break.
And if the Blades are to build on that and push into the top eight when the Championship season resumes, you get the sense that Donovan’s blend of industry and invention will play a key part.
The stats back up the eye test in suggesting that the Brentford loanee is the most creative player in the United squad. Stats from Opta show he has 20 “take-ons” this season; more than three times as many as his nearest challenger, Ben Brereton Diaz (six).
“Football, for me, is not for anyone else but the fans,” Donovan told The Star. “They come and spend their Saturdays, take their time out of the day. So for me it’s about giving something back to them.
“And that's what I try to do in my performances, by playing with creativity, flair, aggression. I owe it to them, really. I started off at Birmingham, which is a hard-working club. And there are a lot of similarities here.”
For a time the old-fashioned winger seemed to go out of the game, in favour of wide forwards and players whose first thought seemed to be to play inside rather than square up his man and try to beat him. Donovan, in many ways, is a refreshing throwback.
“That’s a big aspect of my game,” he admitted. “Because my role as a winger is to create. I don't want to be playing safe and choosing the easier option, because that's not creative. I look up to players around my age, like Lamine Yamal, and they’re just fearless.
“Because, at the end of the day, I know fullbacks don't want to be getting run at throughout a game. So that’s what I try to do every time I step onto the pitch. But you have to be wise as well.
“Sometimes you have to move the ball around, and I feel like that's an aspect of my game that I needed to learn when I came here. There’s a lot of room for improvement football-wise and I’ve still got a lot to learn.
“But you can't go into a 1v1 thinking: ‘What if I lose the ball here?’ And I don't. I just feel like once I've got my defender 1v1 and I've squared him up, then that's my time to showcase what I'm about.”