'We have faith in him' - International manager throws support behind struggling Sheffield United man

The 21-year-old broke his international duck with a penalty in the Young Lions’ 2-0 win over Kosovo last month, but is still waiting on a first strike for the Blades after 33 league outings.

As a result, the former Liverpool man has been an unused sub in each of United’s last three Championship matches, and has been doing extra finishing work with coaches Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott while he’s away on international duty.

Speaking about the challenges Brewster has faced in recent times, former Everton and Republic of Ireland midfielder Carsley said: “Rhian needs support at the minute, he needs to see that we have faith in him as a country and that we rate him.

“I wasn’t aware until he’d scored that it was his first goal last month. You just assume that because Rhian has always been around that he had scored. It’s a massive thing.

“I really like him. He’s very level-headed and had a lot thrown at him for someone so young, moving for big money and being in and out of the team.

“It’s important that they know we are there if they need us. We won’t impose ourselves on them but it’s good to have someone independent who you can ring up for a chat.

“It’s always about how they are feeling, how they are getting on and offering help.”