Sheffield United legend highlights Blades' biggest issue as old pal Chris Wilder faces big rebuild job

Brian Deane, the Sheffield United legend, has warned his former club that they are facing a "massive overhaul" in the summer if, as widely expected, they are relegated from the Premier League. The Blades are sleepwalking towards an instant return to the Championship after Monday's 6-0 hammering at home to Arsenal saw their season struggle continue.

Boss Chris Wilder, a pal and former teammate of Deane at Bramall Lane, admitted in the aftermath of Monday's massacre that he is facing a "big job" in turning things around at his boyhood club. The number of players out of contract in the summer is into double figures while the memory of this campaign's many blows will not be easy to shake off for those who do remain in South Yorkshire.

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The roots of United's struggle stretch back to the summer sales of key men Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge shortly before the start of the campaign, with United beginning their season in the Premier League weaker than they had ended it in the division below. United were unable to replicate any sort of identity after a summer of recruitment that focused on quantity rather than quality and the results of a £20m summer transfer budget are now there for the watching world to see.

"They’re just short in every area and I don’t think that’s an individual thing," Deane said. "Just how the plan has unfolded to now. It’s just unfortunate that they aren’t better than any team in any department at the moment. The real problem has been the recruitment and the lack of ideas over the last few years. There hasn’t been a refresh of the squad quickly enough and the squad has aged really badly.

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"Look at how they play, it’s difficult for them to even get behind the opposition with pace – one of the fundamental things that you need in the Premier League. They haven’t bought players who are naturally do that or have the nous to see them through games, and that’s a major issue. It’s just been a bridge too far. I’m not defending anybody but I’m also not criticising anybody. We have to take a view of what has happened from the top down, it can’t be from the bottom up. People have to look at the players and how they’re looking forward to the future in the short, mid and long term."

Many eyes amongst the fanbase are now firmly planted on next season with the hope that United can rebuild and come back stronger, with a core of young players including Oli Arblaster, Andre Brooks and Will Osula. But Wilder has been vocal about the need to supplement that youth with experience, with Deane highlighting a lack of leadership as a concern.

Speaking to Offers.bet, Deane added: "If you look at the squad you have a group of young players that are coming through, and then you have a bit of a vacuum – they don’t seem to have leaders, and that’s a massive problem. Going down a division, I don’t know how that’s going to work. They sold Ndiaye before the season started – has that money been invested wisely? I’m not sure. Sander Berge left. They came into the season with a poorer team than they had in the Championship.

 "That gives you an idea of exactly where the club is, and how much work has to be done now. It’s going to take a massive overhaul and I’m not sure if the club has the appetite to spend that kind of money. I think they could be looking at gathering thoughts and changing strategy; not making a push next season, but the year after."