Harry Souttar opens up on life at Sheffield United after Leicester City loan exile ended with Bramall Lane switch

There can be few finer comparisons for modern-day Sheffield United defenders than to Chris Basham, but Harry Souttar may not be in a rush to emulate the forward-thinking Blades legend again any time soon. The 6ft 7in centre-half was signed earlier this summer for his defensive prowess but there was a throwback to United’s attacking centre-back era during Saturday’s victory over Derby County at Bramall Lane.

At one stage Souttar pushed the ball past his marker and powered past him before delivering a cross into the box; on another occasion there was a cheeky nutmeg of Curtis Nelson after a corner had been partially cleared into his path. The crowd loved it but there was a less positive reception from Chris Wilder on the touchline, with a few choice words for the United man as he raced back into position.

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On the whole, though, Souttar has been a superb addition to the Blades squad after arriving in the summer from Leicester City. He has been as commanding aerially as you would imagine for a player of his stature but also composed on the deck, forming a good partnership with Anel Ahmedhodzic at centre-half. The pair complement each other well - the Bosnian the more mobile of the two and able to mop up behind the dominant Australian international - and three clean sheets in three games is a record that speaks for itself.

Boss Wilder recently hinted that he is open to the idea of launching a bid to sign Souttar on a permanent basis, admitting that his loan was an opportunity to put himself in the shop window, and Souttar himself is loving life in South Yorkshire after a frustrating spell at Leicester following his £15m move from Stoke last January. Describing his partnership with Ahmedhodzic as “brilliant,” Souttar added: “We suit each other, I think. It’s no secret that he’s probably the more mobile of the two of us, and I’ll just go and head it and kick it for him! But it’s been good. I think [the Derby win] was the fourth game that we played together and there’s more to come.

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“Honestly, I can’t tell you how much I’m loving it. Coming in training every day with such a good group of people, players and staff. There’s just a proper family-friendly feeling to the club and a feeling that we all want to succeed, and we’ve got something here. Going from not playing a lot of football last year, to playing football is great and I’m just trying to do the best I can. And I’m loving every minute of it.”

Saturday’s win, courtesy of a determined rearguard display to protect impressive goalkeeper Michael Cooper and Gus Hamer’s superb free-kick at the other end, means United are fifth going into this weekend’s trip to Portsmouth. They are level on points with one of only two other unbeaten sides in the league, Blackburn Rovers, and four adrift of the other, early leaders West Bromwich Albion.

“t’s been a good start,” Souttar added. “But like the gaffer said, we can get a whole lot better I think. And we’re only going to go get a lot better. There were obviously a lot of changes in the summer but I think you can see the way we’re trying to play and want to play. It’s not all just going to come after four or five games; it’s going to maybe be a longer process. But as long as we’re obviously picking up points and results during that time, then the better we’ll get.”