Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder speaks out about Callum Robinson as the West Brom striker prepares to face his former club

Instead, speaking as United prepared for their visit to The Hawthorns, Wilder explained he sanctioned the deal which saw Oliver Burke move in the opposite direction after a pre-season review of the skill sets within Bramall Lane’s first team squad revealed a vacancy for a player with the Scotland international’s pace and physical power.

Paying tribute to Robinson’s character, Wilder said: “Call is a great kid. A deal for Oli suited us and Call suited Slav (manager Slaven Bilic) and West Brom. Taking away this one, I wish Call all the best for the rest of the season and his career, genuinely, because he’s a great lad. A fabulous lad in fact.”

United, who also received £3m as part of the trade which brought Burke to South Yorkshire, signed Robinson from Preston North End following their promotion from the Championship in 2019. After scoring twice in 20 appearances, the 25-year-old joined West Brom on loan in January; helping Bilic’s side return to the top-flight after being relegated two years ago.

“Our recruitment is different from the established Premier League teams,” Wilder said. “We have to bring lads in and improve them. Call didn’t do anything wrong. We just felt we had to change it a bit, and Oli has brought the things we felt we needed.”

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