Football Season Guide

Following their relegation from the Premier League in 2020-21, Sheffield United endured a dreadful start to last season under Slavisa Jokanovic, who was sacked in November. Paul Heckingbottom took charge for a second time and led the Blades on an excellent second half of the season to reach the playoffs, but were beaten in the semi-finals by Nottingham Forest. Several loan players and fringe players have left Bramall Lane upon the end of their loan spells and contracts, which has trimmed the size of the squad. Gibbs-White will be a huge miss after being integral to United's revival last season, and the attacking midfielder is yet to be properly replaced. Doyle is a fantastic addition from Man City, whilst Clark is a shrewd piece of business too, but Heckingbottom will be eager to see more arrivals in the coming weeks. Defensively and centrally, United possess an impressive squad for the Championship, whilst talents like Sander Berge are excellent for this division. However, United lack flair and width in their squad as things stand, leaving Heckingbottom with little adaptability if needing to freshen things up from the 3-5-2 setup. Without Gibbs-White too, there appears to be an over-reliance on Billy Sharp for goals again this season, with Brewster, McBurnie and Jebbison struggling to provide the quality to support him.