Sheffield United should eye up January move for ex-Ipswich Town star - He’s what Blades are missing | OneFootball

Sheffield United's chaotic start to 2025-26 means that the club may need to bring in new blood in January, and one player could be a solution for them

Sheffield United's chaotic start to the season leaves them requiring a rethink, and one player who'll available in the January transfer window could provide them with an answer.

Chris Wilder may have returned to Bramall Lane for a third time to manage Sheffield United, but there were few signs of any immediate improvement to be taken from their 1-0 home defeat against Charlton Athletic in his first match back in charge of the team.

The result leaves the Blades rooted to the foot of the Championship table, the only club in their entire top 92 without a single point so far, and having scored just one goal in their first six matches of the season.

The Blades had a busy summer in the transfer window following Wilder's sacking in June, but the departure of one particular player, Vini Souza, seems to have particularly hurt them.

Souza's departure from the club has left a big gap between their defence and their midfield, and the absence of his anchoring effect often left the Blades overrun in midfield in the games they've played so far this season.

But one player who's unexpectedly become available could plug that gap and help to get their season back on track - but only from January.

Sam Morsy could fill the gap left by the departure of Vini Souza at Sheffield United

The loss of Vini Souza has hit Sheffield United hard.

The defensive midfielder was one of their standout performers last season, and his departure for Wolfsburg at the start of July created a gap in their team which has not been successfully filled.

Finding a player who could fill the gap that he left behind might not otherwise have been an easy task, but the surprise availability of the former Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy is an opportunity that they perhaps cannot afford to overlook.

Morsy was the captain of the Ipswich team which stunned the Championship by winning a second successive promotion at the end of the 2023-24 season and played 33 times for them in the Premier League last season.

He left Portman Road with the blessing of the Town hierarchy to play for Kuwait SC, which was reported to be a "lucrative" contract to move to the Middle East, but he has been unexpectedly released from his contract after just two months following a red card in just his third match, and is now said to be a free agent - though he'll be unable to sign for anyone in the EFL the start of the January transfer window.

And if United could wait that long to add the experienced Egyptian international, then it may be a deal worth doing.

A heat map comparison shows that Morsy and Vini Souza are uncannily similar players

The exact reasons for the early termination of Sam Morsy's contract with Kuwait SC are unclear, but we do know that it was by mutual consent, coming just three games into the Kuwaiti league season after he was sent off thirty minutes into a 1-1 draw against Al-Arabi.

Morsy's enormous experience will have alerted numerous Championship clubs to his availability, and with the player concerned being unable to play for anyone until January, there's plenty of time for clubs to start jockeying for position to sign him.

A comparison of the two players' heat maps confirms what an excellent replacement Morsy could be for Souza.

These figures are a direct comparison of how they got on in their clubs' respective last seasons in the Premier League, and they show very similar positional sense, and exactly the sort of gap that has been evident in the Sheffield United team that could be filled by Morsy's arrival.

There will be considerable interest in the player from elsewhere, so Sheffield United may have to make a persuasive case to convince the player to join them at Bramall Lane in the new year, but there seems little question that this player could do a job for them.