Sheffield United: Boss forced to abandon his plan to bring back Rhian Brewster

Brewster, who became the most expensive player in United’s history when he completed a £23.5m move from Liverpool 12 month ago, returned to their squad at Oakwell after missing the recent games against Stoke City and Millwall.

Struggling for form and confidence after scoring just once in his first 38 outings for the visitors, Brewster returned to the substitutes bench against Markus Schopp’s side and was set to be brought on when Devante Cole claimed the first of two goals the hosts’ scored in the final 12 minutes of the contest.

“I wanted to bring Rhian on and work with him in this game,” said Jokanovic, who had earlier seen strikes from Lys Mousset (2) and Ben Osborn appear to put the visitors in the driving seat. “But the game didn’t let me do that.

“There was no argument in the end that we could do it. We gave them oxygen and we gave them something to be positive about, and in football that is not acceptable.”

Brewster must now wait until Saturday’s clash with Blackpool for another chance to demonstrate he can fulfil the potential which persuaded United to invest so heavily in his services.

“If you score three goals, you must grow up and be more mature,” Jokanovic said. “It was a shame, because of what happened, that we couldn’t go through with the idea we had.”