Oliver Arblaster, a youngster who is now on loan at League One Port Vale, is a midfielder for Sheffield United, and the team is leaving options open about his future. The 19-year-old United academy product has played in 20 games for Vale so far this season, but he will be missing this weekend’s match against Shrewsbury due to a red card from his previous match.
Arblaster began and completed 90 minutes of play for England’s Elite League team, formerly known as the U20s, when they defeated Germany 3-2 in Regensburg on Monday night. The team ended the match with 10 men, but a stoppage-time goal sealed the victory. It was the most recent move for a young player who the coaching staff at United thought was very talented and who had been sent out to play men’s football in the summer to further advance his development.
Arblaster’s progress at Staffordshire is being closely monitored by Paul Heckingbottom and his team, who will consider bringing him back to Bramall Lane for a bit part role rather than constant football play, although they do have the option to return Arblaster in January. To further challenge and test one of their valued assets, the Blades may decide to assign him to a team further up the football hierarchy.
Of the adolescent, Heckingbottom remarked, “He’s doing really well.” “Sending him out was the proper decision for his development, but he would have received minutes here instead. Not as many, perhaps. Because he is underage, it would have also benefited us that he wouldn’t have been considered a member of the 25-man squad. However, I believe it would have been a very self-serving choice to keep him in.
As things stand, 18 United players are scheduled to depart Bramall Lane in the summer.
“People are aware of our opinions about him; we believe he has a great opportunity and might have a very bright career here. Therefore, we felt it was crucial that we got him outside and into games as often as we could. That’s what he did, and his performance is good. It was exactly the appropriate thing to do. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in January or at the end of the season.”
Andy Crosby, the manager of Vale Park, used to be Nigel Adkins’ assistant manager at United. He is philosophical about the chance of losing Arbaster in the middle of the season. Alfie Devine, a loanee from Spurs, is also making an impression. “If you’re taking a U20 or U21 international on loan, they’re giving them to you to develop and grow, and they want a better player back,” Crosby stated. We naturally want them to succeed while they are here, but you have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of that. Players will attract attention from other teams if they perform well.”
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