“Very important” Sheffield United man stakes claim with starring role as Blades fulfil "must-win" promise
“Very important” Sheffield United man stakes claim with starring role as Blades fulfil "must-win" promise
Ryan One could be “a very important player” for Sheffield United this coming season, manager Ruben Selles has admitted, after the Scottish youth international impressed the new boss with two goals in the Blades’ 6-2 rout of York City this evening. The 19-year-old remains very raw but is so highly rated at Bramall Lane.
And he showed exactly why with two good finishes as the Blades stuck six past the National League outfit in Selles’ first game in charge since succeeding Chris Wilder at Bramall Lane earlier this summer. Andre Brooks, Tyrese Campbell, Kieffer Moore and Anel Ahmedhodzic were also on target for the Blades.
Utilised in a wide left position after coming on as a half-time substitute, One had two chances to extend United’s 3-0 lead at the break within the first few minutes of being on the pitch and eventually got his goal when his left-footed effort took a slight deflection on the way into the City net.
“Ryan has been one of the players that has been investing the most in the pre-season,” Selles told The Star afterwards. “He can play in the front three positions, the second striker if we need to go to that shape. He’s intense, he reads the pressure. He has quality and he can score goals. So if he continues developing as he is, then he could be a very important player for us this season.”
The watching Blades fans were treated to a first glimpse of what their side could look like under Selles, with his high-intensity football evident as the Blades often won the ball back high up the pitch and punished the home side.
Ryan One stakes Sheffield United claim with brace as Blades fulfil “must win” pledge v York City
Their margin of victory could have been greater too but for an impressive goalkeeping display from Harrison Male, while George Sykes-Kenworthy also shone after coming off the bench with a fine reaction save to keep out a header from One.
“It’s always good to win. In those games, especially for us, it’s a must win and we showed an identity and what we want to be,” Selles added. “We also saw some things that we could have done better, conceding twice in four minutes. But the team managed the comeback and kept calm. It was a good test for us, they gave us some triggers and it was a very good first test in pre-season.
“We are going to take everything and analyse all the situations. The time they broke our press and the times we lost possession but then won it back. We need to be better in defensive set-plays, that’s something we need to keep focusing on but it was important we scored when we had the situation to do so. I will take the whole game and try to make this team better.
“I see a team that’s trying to do what we want to do, putting a lot of energy in and the positional behaviours alongside the intensity. But we have only been together two weeks and it’s the first game. This is just the first level to what we hope will be a good season.”