Sheffield United loan watch: Ismaila Coulibaly scores again for Beerschot as Luke Freeman returns to training at Nottingham Forest

Victory in the five-goal thriller against the League One outfit saw Chris Wilder’s side finally break their duck at the 19th time of asking across all competitions.

Now the Blades will be hoping the dismal run of results which stretched back to last July is firmly a thing of the past as they bid to pull off the great escape in their bid for survival in the Premier League.

But what about the players who are not currently part of the first team picture at Bramall Lane?

Let’s take a look to see how they are faring.

Luke Freeman

The 28-year-old midfielder is currently on a season-long loan with Championship side Nottingham Forest.

Freeman, who joined United for a then club record £5m from Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 2019, has recovered from surgery to correct a hernia problem and is expected to return to training today (Monday).

“Luke hasn’t trained with the team again yet,” Reds boss Chris Hughton told NottinghamshireLive. “At this moment he’s scheduled to train with us on Monday.

“He’s done some good work with the medical department and rehab, and is feeling good at the moment.

“When you’re on the back of an operation, you’ve come through that and you’re feeling good, it’s a nice feeling.

“We hope that from Monday he can go from strength to strength, and it won’t be too long before he’s available for selection.”

Rhys Norrington-Davies

Wales under-21 international Norrington-Davies is on loan at Championship side Luton Town for the 2020/21 campaign.

The 21-year-old has produced some excellent displays for the Hatters which has led to him earning three full Wales caps, as well as a new long-term contract with the Blades which he penned last month.

Norrington-Davies, who will remain with the Bedfordshire club for the remainder of his loan spell, came on as a 74th minute substitute in the 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Reading at Kenilworth Road on Saturday after Hatters boss Nathan Jones made wholesale changes to his starting XI for the game.

Jake Eastwood

The 24-year-old goalkeeper joined Scottish Premiership outfit Kilmarnock in July on a six-month loan but suffered a thigh injury on his debut against Hibernian in early August which kept him out of action for three months. He remains at Killie but wasn’t in the matchday squad for the 2-0 win over Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

Tyler Smith

Twenty-two-year-old striker Smith joined League One outfit Swindon Town on a season-long loan in August.

The forward, who has not made a senior appearance for the Blades, has netted seven goals during his loan spell at the County Ground but was an unused substitute in John Sheridan’s side’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday.

Ismaila Coulibaly

Mali under-20 midfielder Coulibaly joined United from Norwegian outfit Sarpsborg 08 earlier this season and was immediately sent out on loan for the next three seasons to high-flying Belgian side Beerschot, the Blades’ sister club.

Coulibaly, who has been named in United’s list of U21 players for the 2020/21 campaign, is more than enjoying life in the Belgian Pro League and played a key role in Beerschot’s fine start to the season which saw them top the table shortly before Christmas.

They have fallen away since after a disappointing festive period which saw them lose games against Anderlecht and Sint-Truiden to slip to seventh place in the standings.

However, Coulibaly made it five goals in 12 games for his loan club yesterday when he was on target in Beerschot’s 1-1 draw with Gent at home – a result which leaves them 13 points behind leaders Club Brugge, albeit with a game in hand.

Sam Graham

The 20-year-old central defender is on loan at National League outfit Notts County – his second temporary stint with the Magpies – and is currently waiting to discover if he will be recalled by United or remain at Meadow Lane.

Notts boss Neal Ardley has said that he would like to retain Graham’s services, but revealed the decision was out of his hands.

Regan Slater

United allowed the 21-year-old midfielder to join League One outfit Hull City on a season-long loan in November and has made 14 appearances so far for the Tigers – but was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw in front of the Sky Sports cameras at Sunderland on Saturday evening.

Jéan Leroy Belehouan

The 20-year-old French central defender joined National League Premier side FC Halifax Town on loan for the remainder of the season on Friday and made his debut in the Shaymen’s 1-1 draw at King’s Lynn Town 24 hours later.

Belehouan, who is a second-year scholar with the Blades and plays for the club's under 23s, played 65 minutes of the game in Norfolk and was ‘keen to get on the ball and showed decent composure’, according to Tom Scargill of the Halifax Courier.

Speaking after the game, Shaymen boss Pete Wild said: “Obviously it was Jean's debut in men's football and I thought we got a good 65 minutes out of him, I was really pleased with that.

"I only brought him off because I wanted to change to a four, that was the only reason, and I thought it was a good start for him. He'll learn from that and only get better.”

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