Sheffield United supporters would been relieved to see Leeds United only pick up a drab point away at Burnley on Monday night after the Blades fell to a surprise 3-0 defeat to Hull City.
As a result of the Whites playing out an unmemorable 0-0 draw at Turf Moor, Chris Wilder’s men are only two points off the Championship summit, with a big win away at Derby County needed next for the South Yorkshire outfit to get their promotion efforts back on track.
Nobody can accuse United of being quiet in the transfer window either in their bid to return to the Premier League, with another potential deal on the cards taking the total of incomings up to a sizeable four.
Sheffield United interested in deal for EFL star
As per an exclusive report from the Sheffield Star, the promotion chasers are keen on adding Harry Darling to their ever-growing group before next month’s abrupt deadline as Wilder goes about strengthening his defensive numbers.
Darling has generated quite a lot of interest this transfer window to date owing to his Swansea City contract expiring this summer, with Bristol City and Birmingham City previously looking at the 6 foot 2 centre-back before the Blades started sniffing around.
With Harry Souttar out of action for the rest of the season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, Darling would very much gift Wilder another rock in the heart of defence away from the injury-stricken loanee.
Moreover, United have tasted success when buying from the Swans in the past, with Oli McBurnie turning into a fan’s favourite at Bramall Lane after waving goodbye to Wales.
What Darling could offer Sheffield United
Before delving deeper into Darling’s strengths as a centre-back, the 25-year-old can only hope to be as popular as McBurnie was in South Yorkshire if he does make the switch shortly.
In particular, his efforts during the 2022/23 campaign still stick out to this day, as his crucial 13 strikes from 38 league games helped the Blades push up to the Premier League.
Darling possesses a similar goalscoring knack even when lining up as a defender for Luke Williams’ men, with the Swansea number six helping himself to nine goals in the Championship across his impressive career to date.
In the past, Wilder has loved working with defenders who can fight and battle but also have the ability to fire home a killer goal, with Darling perhaps becoming his next Jack O’Connell or Harry Egan in that sense, alongside also being an arguable upgrade on the unfortunate Souttar.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Darling
Souttar
Games played
28
21
Goals scored
2
0
Assists
3
0
Touches*
79.2
69.0
Accurate passes*
58.4 (89%)
49.6 (86%)
Ball recoveries*
3.9
2.4
Clearances*
4.6
5.1
Total duels won*
4.9
5.0
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the table above, Darling does better his injured counterpart in many different areas this season in the Championship, with more accurate passes managed per contest as a competent performer out from the back, alongside other numbers going in his favour.
Indeed, the “heroic” ace – as he was labelled by Williams earlier this campaign – averages more ball recoveries as a tenacious presence, whilst his numbers in terms of clearances registered and duels being won fall flat just when weighed up next to the 6 foot 7 man mountain.
Wilder will pray that Darling’s signature can be won, therefore, as he looks like the best possible replacement for Souttar in the short-term, with the added impressive qualities of being able to join in with attacks and spray the ball about with more ease.
United fans will be blown away by how much business has been done so far this window, with plenty more expected before this coming Monday’s dramatic deadline.
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