Exclusive:Rotherham United weigh up Sheffield United transfer move as Chris Wilder looks to strike right balance
Near neighbours weigh up Sheffield United transfer move as Chris Wilder looks to strike right balance
Sheffield United’s neighbours Rotherham United are eyeing a move for another Blades starlet on loan this January, as Chris Wilder looks to strike the right balance between not stifling his younger players and not leaving himself short. The Blades have already loaned defender Jamal Baptiste to their League One neighbours.
He is impressing in the middle of defence and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a longer-team deal at the New York Stadium, despite signing a new deal with United in the summer before making the short move over the border to Rotherham.
And he may be joined by another Blades youngster before the window slams shut later this month, with the Millers one of a few clubs interested in striker Ryan One. The Star understands that One is a player who has long been admired by Millers chief Matt Hamshaw, as he looks to steer his side away from the League One drop zone.
One, a Scottish youth international, doesn’t turn 20 until this summer but his physical profile and eye for goal have marked him out as one to watch in United’s youth ranks and he played a big part in United’s pre-season campaign under previous boss Ruben Selles.
But he is some way down the pecking order at Bramall Lane behind Patrick Bamford, Tyrese Campbell, Danny Ings and Tom Cannon and hasn’t featured for the first team since coming off the bench as an 81st-minute substitute at home to QPR back in early November.
Near neighbours weigh up Sheffield United transfer move as Chris Wilder looks to strike right balance
One is widely expected to leave the Lane this month to gain some invaluable first-team experience and exposure, with Sam Curtis already joining Chesterfield and scoring on his debut at MK Dons on Sunday.
Louie Marsh is another who could be sent out on loan in the second half of the season but Wilder will balance the pros against the possibility of needing to call on his younger players, as he did last season in one memorable win away at Watford when the Blades were in the middle of an availability crisis which decimated their squad.
“There’s a lot of interest in a few of those young boys,” Wilder admitted recently, “so we'll wait and see how everything develops. I'm certainly not going to leave ourselves light at all.
“I go back to our team against Watford last season. We had loads of academy players on the bench, two goalkeepers and Rhian [Brewster]. And went there and won. We did it on personality and character and belief and a bit of organisation, and a bit of skill.
“We knew that wouldn't take us forward in the second part of the season, but it underpins everything that we're trying to achieve in terms of what players have to produce for us to be successful. And if we produce that, then we'll win games of football. And that was one of the highlights of the season for me, one hundred per cent.”