‘Very, very good’ - Sheffield United star welcomes return of biggest rival after glowing endorsement

Bogle is back in the United squad after a frustrating time out with a knee issue, which saw him go under the knife last season. After briefly returning earlier this campaign, he was forced to undergo another operation to correct the metalwork used in the initial surgery and made only his second start in 10 months away at Blackpool recently.

Bogle could get some more minutes under his belt this weekend when the Blades travel to Millwall in the third round of the FA Cup and Baldock told The Star: “You've got to have that healthy competition, haven't you?

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“You saw last year that we were both injured at times so it's one of those situations. Jayden’s a good player, obviously. A very, very good player. He's young and can be anything he wants to be.

“So can a lot of the young lads here. And you need that competition and youth in your side as well. Me and Jayden get on great off the pitch and there'll be times we're both on the pitch together, I'm sure.

“That happened last year when I played at left back or right centre-half. And sometimes players that fans think are all competing with each other, are actually working together.

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“I know what it's like, it's just football. You've got to take on those challenges and in-house, we know what each other brings to the team. And we'll definitely need both of us if we're going to challenge for what we want to challenge for.”

Bogle, who arrived at United in a cut-price move from Derby County, is Baldock’s biggest rival for the right-back spot since he made the move to Bramall Lane and the plan, as far as boss Paul Heckingbottom is concerned, is to have two quality operators battling it out for one spot, driving each other on in the process.

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“It's great,” Heckingbottom said about having Bogle and Baldock back fit and available. “Jayden needs the minutes but he’s getting fitter and fitter. He’s missed a lot of game-time. It was a long time out but he’s a naturally fit boy, it’s just the games he needs now. You’ll see him on the pitch more to build that up and get him back to the levels he was at last season.

“It is not a headache [to choose between the pair]. More a decision for me but it’s for the players to push each other on. You saw against QPR, there might be changes during games.

“We are going to need that between now and the end of the season. It is going to be a hell of a run-in, whatever happens, and we will need them both in all the games. You see how tough every game is, home or away. So we’re going to need those options.”

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