"He completes this team" - Sheffield United, Ben Brereton Diaz claim dropped as January looms | OneFootball

Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy selected Ben Brereton Diaz as the perfect player to fill the left-wing void at Sheffield United

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield United have had a fantastic start to the 2024/25 Championship season, amassing 31 points from their opening 15 games.

Despite winning 10 matches already, no team can ever be considered perfect, and there is one area that the Blades may look to improve upon in January to uphold their promotion ambitions.

Speaking to FLW about Sheffield United's prospects this season, our Blades fan pundit Jimmy identified one area that the Blades should look to improve upon in January, and who would be the ideal man to assume the role.

Jimmy marked out Ben Brereton Diaz as a player he'd like the Blades to target to improve the side's left-wing woes.

Our pundit emphasised the Chilean's quality in the Premier League, and believes that Chris Wilder's team would be complete if he were to re-sign the left-forward.

Sheffield United need to sign a left-winger

"Primarily we need to strengthen on the left wing. We're playing a 4-2-3-1 and we've only got one striker. It's not ideal that Kieffer Moore has been out injured, but Tyrese Campbell has come in and done a great job.

"In terms of attacking strength, a lot of people might say striker, I would say left wing. We have not got an orthodox left-winger or a left-forward."

Gustavo Hamer, who is usually deployed in the number 10 role, has been utilised as a left-midfielder in eight of the Blades' matches this season.

Although Hamer has adapted well to the position and has still performed superbly, Jimmy's comments make sense, as he is not a typical winger capable of beating his man and delivering sharp crosses.

Ben Brereton Diaz would be the perfect player to fill the left-wing void at Sheffield United

There was only one player in mind for Jimmy when considering who should be brought in to fill the gap on the left side of midfield, and that was former Blades loanee Ben Brereton Diaz. Commenting on the Chilean international, Jimmy said:

"The player I'm going to mark out is not currently getting in at Southampton, but did a brilliant job for us in the Premier League last year, as crazy as that may sound thinking about how we played.

'Ben Brereton Diaz. He completes this team, as he slots in on the left-hand side as a left-forward, with Rak-Sakyi on the right, Kieffer Moore up top. You can put Gus Hamer behind in the 10 and rotate him with Callum O'Hare. I think we would have a sensational attack there."

Brereton Diaz was brought in for the second half of Sheffield United's miserable return to the Premier League, on loan from Villarreal.

The winger impressed, however, and a glance at his statistics shows that he fits the bill of a wide forward that Jimmy references.

Six goals and an xGOT of 0.47 per 90 minutes shows that the former Blackburn man takes high quality shots and is able to convert his chances with a high degree of precision.

He also took nearly three shots per game, which would aid Sheffield United significantly, given they have scored only 19 goals in 15 matches so far.

Another notable statistic was Brereton Diaz's cross accuracy. 22.2% ranked him in the top 35% of Premier League wingers last season.

With Kieffer Moore's height and heading ability, accurate crossing could easily lead to more goals for Wilder's side.

Evidently, as Jimmy highlighted, signing Brereton Diaz would also allow Hamer to return to his natural centre-midfield role, and facilitate every player being positioned in their natural role.

Having already proven himself to the Bramall Lane faithful, a return for the winger could prove to be the difference-maker in Wilder's push for promotion, as they look to find the back of the net with more regularity.

It is uncertain whether Brereton Diaz would be interested in reinstating himself in Sheffield, but many would presume a move would be preferable to sitting on the bench at Southampton.