Sheffield United Set For First Pre-season Test Under Selles – Here’s What to Expect Under the New Manager | OneFootball

Sheffield United will kick off for their first pre-season game on Tuesday night with a trip to York City. For the first time, fans will get a glimpse of new manager Ruben Selles on the touchline and an early look at the tactical setup from the Spanish coach.

Known for his intensity and forward-thinking, Selles has promised a fresh identity built on hard work, high pressing, and plenty of quick transitions once the Blades force a turnover. Selles has also hinted at a few tweaks from last season. He has already stated that his wingers will play much differently to how Chris Wilder used them. Plus, he’s hinted at a central role for Gustavo Hamer, rather than him cutting in from the left wing, like last term, and then limiting United’s width down the left and unbalancing the attack.

With a full summer to work with his squad which began in Girona, the 42-year-old will be eager to lay down early markers of what’s to come in the 2025/26 Championship season.

What A Ruben Selles Team Generally Looks Like

Ruben Selles instructing Sheffield United players in training session. (Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club – X.com).

Selles is expected to change the tempo and intent of the team. Where last season’s side often lacked rhythm or consistency in the middle and final third, Selles’ philosophy is clear: win the ball early, move it forward quickly (hence his favourite term (vertical), and press relentlessly.

Particularly at Reading, his sides were dominant in possession in the final third but not necessarily in the game as a whole. So it’s clear he puts an emphasis on not just passing it for the sake of it. He wants the ball to get into the creative part of the pitch within three or four passes using midfield and full-back rotations. From there, it’s all about passing combinations, making the defence work and not having time to set, and using overloads to open up high percentage crossing opportunities or shots.

What Formations Could We See From Sheffield United This Pre-season

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MAY 12: Callum O’Hare of Sheffield United celebrates with his teammates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi Final Second Leg match between Sheffield United and Bristol City at Bramall Lane on May 12, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Tactically, Selles is very versatile. Fans should expect him to experiment between three shapes during pre-season: 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, and 4-2-2-2.

During his first full season with Reading, he played each of these formations in different stages of the campaign to try and combat a dip in form. This suggests he is a highly adaptable manager with more than just plan A. Something that Wilder was criticised for a lot in his two spells at the Blades was his lack of a plan B, it appears as though Selles could be quite different from that.

4-2-3-1 offers a solid base with a double pivot in midfield and an advanced playmaker, likely Gustavo Hamer or Callum O’Hare, operating behind a lone striker. But as of now, United don’t have the best of options for this system. Ideally, they need at least one strong defensive minded midfielder to be the Vinicius Souza replacement. Additionally, they need to find at least a couple of Championship standard wingers with explosiveness in their game, not just for attacking but also for the pressing side of things.

While Selles has used more of a hybrid version of a 4-3-3, especially against teams that sit deep, a game like against York City could be the type of match to test this system. Against low blocks, the central midfielders at either side of the three are given the freedom to basically play as attacking midfielders, with the central player of the three sitting deeper as the screen in front of the centre-backs.

Perhaps we could even see Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare occupy these roles in this shape against low blocks, as it would provide United with the services of their best creator, Hamer, and arguably their best presser, O’Hare.

The 4-2-2-2 can easily be flexed into several different shapes in game. Selles can play a target man, like Kieffer Moore, with a quicker and more complete forward like Tyrese Campbell beside him. The two players behind the strikers can either be wingers hugging the touchline and looking to attack down the outside, or, they could be two floating attacking midfielders which occupy more centrally.

With two central attacking midfielders, Selles can create a box in which to apply a press with, and this is where the Blades can set traps and win the ball back high up the pitch, as they’ll have multiple phases of the press and multiple players swarming.

Final Thoughts

Of course, Tuesday’s friendly at York won’t define the season, but it will offer a first look at what the Ruben Selles era will bring to Sheffield United. Because of this, it’s probably the first friendly I’ve been excited about since the Inter Milan friendly back in preparation for the 2018/19 season.