Sheffield United identify missing ingredient ahead of January transfer reset amid Oliver Arblaster warning
Sheffield United identify missing ingredient ahead of January transfer reset amid Oliver Arblaster warning
Chris Wilder has made no secret of his belief that the January transfer window can breathe fresh life into Sheffield United’s season, but not because it gives him the chance to sign new players. The Blades chief is also desperate for new personalities too.
A man who has always been big on character and leadership diagnosed a lack of both when he returned to Bramall Lane in September after a short hiatus, during which United self-sabotaged by undoing much of the good work he had done in recent years.
The list of targets drawn up by Wilder and his coaching staff is made up not just of good players but big characters, with the manager adamant that he cannot always be the one to set the standards.
The returns to training of Ben Mee and Tom Davies have helped on both fronts while both Oliver Arblaster and Sydie Peck could be described as leaders despite their tender years. "Challenging everybody in the changing room is a massive thing for me,” Wilder said ahead of this evening’s clash with Leicester City.
“Not letting the manager's voice always be the loudest one. It can’t always come from me. Last season, I could maybe have put a captain’s armband on half a dozen players. I certainly could have put the armband on about 14 back in 2019.
Sheffield United’s overlooked transfer priority highlighted as Chris Wilder makes Oliver Arblaster point
“I've seen Sydie having a pop at senior players in training when he was 19 and 20, making sure the standards are right. That is something that most definitely we need to look into in January to give us a better chance of being successful."
Wilder is well aware that Arblaster is still some way from his best but that is entirely understandable given he is five games into a comeback from a 13-month absence that the experts say could take half that time again to get back up to top speed.
“We are not as well stocked in the midfield department as we should be as a top-25 club in English football," Wilder added. “[Arblaster] has come back earlier than we would have liked him to. We have to be really mindful and careful with him.
"Managing his minutes is important, in games and at the training ground. I'm a little bit like: ‘It will be all right, get him out there,’ but we employ top people in the sports science department to have a big input.
“We want our players out of their comfort zones and pushing through the limits, especially in a challenging period in the season like this. But there are also daily meetings with the medical, coaching and sports science departments all together.
“Ollie’s seen the club doctor and he's talking three to six months to get 100 per cent on top of his game. It won't take him that long ... but I think we have to give him a bit of a free pass and time to breathe."