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Our Sheffield United fan pundit is yet to be sold on defender Mark McGuinness

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 secured a surprise permanent deal for defender Mark McGuinness on summer transfer deadline day - but he's yet to really impress in a red and white shirt.

The Blades handed a four-year deal to the Republic of Ireland international, and he was one of many centre-back additions in the summer, adding to the likes of Japhet Tanganga, Nils Zatterstrom and the experienced Ben Mee.

But as with the rest of the squad at Bramall Lane, it has not been the dream start for the 24-year-old, who is part of a team that is surprisingly languishing at the bottom of the Championship table, and having been relegated with Cardiff City and Luton in the last two second tier seasons, there will be a fear that a third in succession may come.

The jury is still out on Mark McGuinness at Sheffield United

We asked our Sheffield United fan pundit, Jimmy from the Blades Ramble YouTube channel, as to what he’s made of the signing so far, and it isn't exactly a major glowing reference for the ex-Arsenal man.

Speaking to Football League World, Jimmy said: “Mark McGuinness, for me, sums up our summer transfer window.

“I think he's an okay signing. I don't think he's a great Championship defender; I think he's an okay Championship defender.

“He's been steady. There are certain qualities that he brings that improves us. I think he's very good aerially. He's a big, imposing presence at the back.

“But he's quite slow as well, so you need to counter that with others around him that are a little bit more mobile. We've got that in [Japhet] Tanganga.

“So, it's certainly not been a bad signing for Sheffield United, we needed someone in that position. But has he blown me away? No, he hasn't.

“Yeah, I'm yet to be sold on him, to be honest.”

Mark McGuinness hasn’t had the environment to prove himself yet at Sheffield United

Still only 24 years old, McGuinness has arrived at Bramall Lane with experience well beyond his years, but the last few seasons - despite the £10 million fee he moved between Cardiff and Luton for - have been negative ones.

Defenders at his age are often only just finding their feet in the senior game, but McGuinnness already has 131 Championship outings to his name. That doesn’t happen by accident, and although he has two relegations on his CV, he performed well enough individually to make two decent transfers.

The talent is clearly there, and it may well be looked back on as a smart investment once things have settled down for the Blades, but right now it is a difficult atmosphere for any professional to perform, not least the younger contingent.

With the Ruben Selles experiment deemed to have been a resounding failure, the Blades are already on their second manager on the season, with 10 games not yet played, with the return of Chris Wilder not proving an immediate success.

Through this turbulent period, they’ve managed just one win in nine games, every single other outing being a loss; they’re not just a little off the boil, they’re dead last in the table, behind even arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday, who are going through one of the most difficult periods in their club’s history.

Settling in at a new club is hard, especially as a younger defender who has just experienced relegation with your former club. It is even harder when your new side are also plunged into an early survival battle, and chaos is running throughout the club.