Chris Wilder has placed a lot of focus on youth since joining Sheffield United, but he says the team needs a “cultural” mix in its squad regardless of the tier they play in next season.
Paul Heckingbottom, the manager at the time, had to rely primarily on youthful players at the beginning of the season due to poor recruitment and injuries, but since Wilder, inset, returned, he has placed more experienced players on the bench and relied more on Andre Brooks and Will Osula.
Behind the scenes, however, securing the futures of the plethora of older players who have contracts expiring in the summer—including John Egan, Oli McBurnie, Jayden Bogle, George Baldock, Max Lowe, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Oliver Norwood, Ben Osborn, Wes Foderingham, Adam Davies, and Chris Basham—has taken a backseat to locking down some of the team’s younger members.
With the Blades needing to make expense cuts after failing to find a new owner for the previous two years and with relegation to the far less lucrative Championship appearing more likely by the day, many will undoubtedly be fired.
The Blades fielded an elderly team that was still focused around the one that earned promotion two years prior due to a lack of investment since their last Premier League elimination in 2021.
The 2019–20 team has a strong British influence, but Wilder’s decision to ‘fish in more than one pond’ for fresh players is supported by his January acquisition of Croatian custodian Ivo Grbic.
Furthermore, he maintains that the reconstruction will require “culture-carriers” to lead the younger players in addition to just young players.
“Regardless of the division we are in, we realise it can’t all be about young players,” he stated. However, what a blessing it is to have them there and to have the walkway.
“A balance is necessary since the children depend on the cultural role models in their environment. They have a few characteristics. They have amazing attitudes in addition to their talent. They have a wide range of interests.
“I have faith in the reconstruction. Its main window will be open during the summer. I have a lot of confidence.
Culturally speaking, we must do the hiring process correctly. We fish in more than one pond.
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