Zak Brunt dreaming of full Bramall Lane after long journey to Sheffield United first team

First came Antwoine Hackford, becoming United’s youngest-ever Premier League player at 16 years old. Then followed Iliman Ndiaye, blooded at Leicester, and Femi Seriki away at Newcastle, before Daniel Jebbison exploded onto the scene with the winner on his full debut away at Everton.

But despite becoming something of a regular in the Blades’ matchday squad as they inched towards the relegation trapdoor, the moment never came for Brunt.

“A few of the lads got their debut and I’m obviously disappointed not to have followed them,” Brunt told The Star. “But it’s one of those things.

“I played well in the U23s [who won their league before losing in the national final] but it just wasn’t to be. It just gives me that incentive to go again, work harder and be better in training.

“Prove to the manager that I can be in and around the team every week. But I’ve been through more than enough setbacks in my time, and I’ve had to get over each and every one of them.”

He isn’t wrong. Brunt was born just down the road from Bramall Lane, in Chesterfield, but his route to the senior squad at Bramall Lane was certainly not a straightforward one and involved almost a year out of the game, a legal wrangle and a spell impressing on trial at one of the world’s biggest clubs.

Brunt’s story, which was featured by Michael Calvin in his book No Hunger in Paradise, actually began at United, when he was invited to train at five years old. At six, he won a skills title at Manchester United’s Soccer School and trained two nights a week at Aston Villa.

He signed for Villa before leaving after growing weary of how he was treated, and was unable to register for another club for 10 months while Villa sought a transfer fee. He ended up at Manchester City’s U11s before a disagreement between Brunt’s dad, Glen, and a City coach saw Glen’s request for Brunt to be released accepted.

From there, Brunt went to Spain and Atletico Madrid, where he was offered a deal. But dad and lad struggled to adapt to life in Madrid, Zak crying each morning on the way to school and Glen struggling to find work. Then, an administrative error on the paperwork turned their lives upside down – Glen had not answered the field for employment on the registration form, because he didn’t have any, and FIFA had noticed it.

Strict rules at the time, to avoid child trafficking, meant that no under-18 player could be transferred internationally unless the family are moving for work purposes. While the Brunts appealed, Zak played for a semi-pro team just outside Madrid alongside the son of the former Real Madrid star, Guti.

After returning to England, Chelsea and Arsenal were interested before Brunt settled closer to home at Derby County. When he left there, a £120,000 price tag was placed on his head under the Elite Player Performance Plan. No professional club could sign him without shelling out that sum for a 15-year-old, and he was forced back into the non-league game to sign for Matlock Town before moving back to Bramall Lane in 2018.

Following all that? With such life experiences under his belt, such uncertainty and trauma and fighting against the odds, it’s little wonder that Brunt is such an intelligent and engaging interviewee despite still only being 19 years of age.

It also explains that steely determination to make it as a player, to ensure all that upheaval and sacrifice earlier in his life does not go to waste. He has made his senior Blades debut this season, impressing in United’s first-round EFL Cup win over Carlisle United at Bramall Lane, and retaining his place for the second-round victory over Wayne Rooney’s Derby County earlier this week.

Time is certainly on his side, but he is a man in a hurry. He revealed recently in an interview that there had been initial conversations about him going out on loan, to a club further down the EFL pyramid, to further accelerate his development.

But with United boss Slavisa Jokanović so far frustrated in his attempts to bolster his midfield options, Brunt may be better served sticking around at Bramall Lane. “I want to play for Sheffield United and in the first team,” he said recently. “If there’s a chance of that, then I’m staying here. It’s as simple as that.”

Even if regular game-time would speed up his development even further, he is learning by the day at United from being around the club’s senior professionals. Phil Jagielka and Aaron Ramsdale, who have now moved on to pastures new, were big role-models last season, while skipper and striker Billy Sharp offers regular tips and rebukes when needed.

“The experience in the dressing room is amazing,” Brunt added. “There are a lot of young lads but they've got tremendous experience too. Look at the likes of Rammers and Rhi [Rhian Brewster], while Jags and Sharpy have played hundreds and hundreds of games between them.

“Not just in the league, but at the very top level. It’s amazing to see how guys like that go about their work each day, and it gives an insight into what you need to do and who you need to be to try and reach those levels as well.

“Rammers was amazing with me, and Rhian has been as well. They both took me under their wing a little bit, like Jags and Sharpy did. There might be a little age difference, but they’re great guys.

“They get on to me when they need to, telling me when I need to be better, and have little chats all the time to teach me little things. It’s great to learn from them.”

The next target is to play at a packed Bramall Lane.

“It’s what you dream of, isn’t it? Being on the bench last season when fans were allowed back was amazing, and to play in front of a crowd in the cup too.

“Hearing that noise again was incredible and playing here at the Lane, in front of 30,000, would be a dream come true. It really would.”

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