Why Panos Retsos hopes to stay at Sheffield United after injury-hit spell at Bayer Leverkusen

The 21-year-old Greek international earned a big-money move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2017, for a fee of over £15m, but struggled for consistent game-time after a succession of injuries curtailed his progress.

Retsos sealed a six-month loan deal to Bramall Lane on deadline day, which contains an option for United to make the move a permanent one.

And the youngster, who was born in South Africa, admitted: "Last year was a bad year for me with many injuries, and I want to forget that and leave it in the past.

"I'm just looking to the future now. This was a great move for me, on a six-month loan, and we'll see how it goes.

"Injuries are a part of football and although there were sad moments, the important thing is how to handle it. You must be stronger than ever to come back fighting."

Retsos has been capped five times for the Greek senior team.

"Football isn't big in South Africa but it's huge in Greece and every day when we woke up, we thought about football," Retsos added.

"I was happy to play for a big team like Olympiakos and Sheffield United is also a big club with big history.

"The Premier League is the best league in the world, so I would love to stay here for many years."