Sheffield United’s Early Season Struggle Highlights Their Shocking Transfer Window So Far – Opinion | OneFootball

Two games into the Championship season and Sheffield United already find themselves bottom of the table under new head coach Ruben Selles.

When factoring in their midweek EFL Cup exit to Birmingham City, that’s three defeats on the bounce, a worrying start for a side who earned 92 points last season under Chris Wilder and finishing third before eventually falling at the final hurdle in the play-offs to Sunderland.

Of course, this eventually led to the sacking of Wilder, which raised plenty of eyebrows at the time, and even more so now with United’s current predicament.

Ruben Selles’ Poor Start to Life As Sheffield United Boss

YORK, ENGLAND – JULY 15: Ruben Selles, Manager of Sheffield United, looks on during the pre-season friendly match between York City and Sheffield United at LNER Community Stadium on July 15, 2025 in York, England. (Photo by Tony King/Getty Images)

The Blades’ opening day loss to Bristol City summed up the cruel nature of football. Despite dominating possession and creating promising openings, they collapsed defensively. A stunning Scott Twine free-kick set the tone before Rhys Norrington-Davies endured a nightmare spell, his mistakes leading directly to two goals in the second half. United’s 4-1 defeat looked damning on paper, but in truth the scoreline flattered the Robins.

If Bristol City was harsh, the Swansea City game was flat-out concerning. United failed to register a single shot on target in South Wales, looking toothless in attack and vulnerable from crosses. Considering Swansea are not the most physical side in the division, the way they unsettled United in the air is a major red flag. Ronald’s second-half strike earned Swansea a 1-0 win and ensured Selles’ Blades went back-to-back league defeats, but the lack of creativity and fight was more alarming than the result itself.

While the comparisons to Wilder’s United team continue, we can’t forget that this squad Selles has is no where near as good as the team that Wilder had last season. This summer, the Blades saw Ben Brereton Diaz, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Hamza Choudhury, Rob Holding, Alfie Gilchrist and Harry Clarke return to their parent clubs following their loan spells at Sheffield United.

Along with this, the club have sold Vinicius Souza and Anel Ahmedhodzic, with only Souza being replaced thus far (by Djibril Soumare).

The Blades Need Several Additions Before the Window Shuts

Reinforcements are badly needed over these next two weeks if United are to finish anywhere near the top six this season.

One of the areas United need to strengthen before the window shuts is the centre-back and right-back position. The Blades have been linked with a central defender over the last few days with Coventry’s Bobby Thomas, who scored at the weekend, would add a much-needed experienced Championship quality defender to go alongside 20-year-old Tyler Bindon.

There could also be a permanent deal in the works for previously linked Malmo defender Nils Zatterstrom. It was reported that the South Yorkshire outfit needed to move Jefferson Caceres on to Dunfermline in order to free up an ESC slot for the young Swedish centre-back. With the Peruvian’s move to Scotland now confirmed, we could potentially see the promising 20-year-old sign for United before the Millwall game.

Meanwhile, a loan move for defensive midfielder Tim Iroegbunam from Everton could give United extra legs, power and composure in the middle of the park, while also offering tactical flexibility for Selles’ highly demanding system.

Perhaps the second most glaring weakness in the entire squad is on the right flank. With academy product Andre Brooks the only natural inside forward option, the Blades are alarmingly thin. Ehije Success Ukaki is also on the books, but he is more inexperienced than what Brooks is. Adding an experienced pacey winger who can stretch play and deliver consistent end product is vital. Without this, United risk being one-dimensional going forward, with Louie Barry looking like the only real threat in the final third across the first two league games.

Blades Missed Out on Cheap Attacking Talent

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 17: Nathanael Mbuku of France, Sontje Hansen of Netherlands and Kaio Jorge of Brazil during the final the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup Brazil 2019 final match Mexico and Brazil at Bezerrao Stadium on November 17, 2019 in Brasilia, Brazil.. (Photo by Pedro Vilela – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

For those that read some of my other opinion pieces and player suggestions earlier this summer, you’d know that I was desperate for United to sign former Netherlands youth international Sontje Hansen from NEC Nijmegen. I wrote this about the versatile winger back in early June:

“I see no red flags with Hansen if he was to sign for a top-end Championship team. The 23-year-old is a very explosive winger who excels in one-on-one situations. He is a former Ajax youth product, so he clearly has talent.

He has that ability to take the ball on the half-turn or backing into his opponent and then spin around the corner, similar to the way Iliman Ndiaye does. He has good composure in tight spaces, so he isn’t just relying on space to exploit when ball-carrying like Ben Brereton Diaz does; he can commit a couple of opponents out wide, thus creating a free man elsewhere such as for a cutback on the edge of the box.”

Hansen just recently signed for Middlesbrough last week for a fee rumoured to be around £3 million. Given his short time at the club, he was brought on from the bench during Boro’s 3-0 win at Millwall, and he produced a great piece of skill for one of their goals.

United need to find someone of Hansen’s technical brilliance and his athleticism, and at this stage of the window, you’re going to find that difficult to come by unless a top level prospect from a Premier League club becomes available for a season-long loan.

Sheffield United Must Do Better in Terms of Recruitment

It’s the lack of signings like Hansen (smart ones) that really gets the fans riled up about these new owners because they just seem like obvious and naturally progressive acquisitions to make. Especially when they’re extremely cheap buys.

Selles is only three competitive games into his tenure, and it would be rash to make a final judgement of him this early. But with defensive lapses, a lack of creativity, and limited squad depth already clear to see, Sheffield United must act quickly in the market.

Smart loan signings and shrewd permanent deals could steady the ship for the new Blades boss, but failure to strengthen in these key areas would be a complete disaster for COH Sports, and in that case, the writing would be on the wall for Selles.