Sheffield United will travel to Wales on Tuesday night in the Championship hopeful of making it three wins from three to firm up their grip on an automatic promotion position.
Indeed, at the time of writing, the Blades are three points better off than Burnley up in second, with Chris Wilder hopeful that another victory away at Swansea City will soon be picked up by his high-flying side to show they mean business in the second tier.
To aid their ongoing promotion efforts, the South Yorkshire side will surely continue to dip their toes into the transfer market, with some defensive additions now being looked at.
Sheffield United pursuing deal for experienced defender
As per a new report by Sheffield Star journalist Danny Hall, the promotion chasers are now entertaining the possibility of snapping up experienced Everton defender Michael Keane, after being incessantly linked with attacking reinforcements in the form of Ben Brereton Diaz and Tom Cannon.
The report states that the Blades have enquired about taking on the tough 32-year-old this window, with their options somewhat light at the back owing to Harry Souttar being sidelined with a long-term injury concern.
After all, the Toffees man has shone in the Championship previously when on the books of Burnley, with Wilder hopeful that he can be as impactful as John Egan’s signing was back in 2018 when the Irishman entered Bramall Lane and was the rock that was needed for his team to win promotion up to the Premier League.
What Keane could offer Sheffield United
Whilst he isn’t quite in his prime anymore, Keane has proven on occasion for Everton over the past couple of seasons that he can still be a no-nonsense defender on his day.
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His showing against Ipswich Town earlier in the campaign proves just that, with seven clearances registered in a dogged shut-out of Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys on the road, on top of popping up with a goal.
Moreover, his ability to head home a thumping header could be key when United’s games are tense and nervy towards the business end of the season, with 15 career goals coming his way in both the top-flight and the second tier.
Egan was a reliable source of goals in the past under Wilder too, alongside also offering up the same imposing presence at the back that Keane is known for when playing week in week out for the Blades, with 27 strikes next to his name in total playing for a whole host of different EFL teams including the South Yorkshire outfit.
Games played
44
45
Goals scored
1
2
Touches *
53.0
60.1
Accurate passes *
31.9
36.5
Interceptions *
1.3
1.8
Tackles *
1.2
1.3
Clearances *
5.9
4.3
Total duels won *
6.2
5.7
Clean sheets
19
19
A fair few of those goals came across two promotion-winning campaigns at Bramall Lane, with the Cork-born enforcer also crucial at the back for his side with a hefty amount of duels won per season, on top of accumulating a combined clean sheet haul of 38.
His numbers during the 2018/19 season are made to look even more impressive when you consider this was his first campaign donning Blades red and white, before he would go on to be seen as a modern-day great.
Keane will hope he can collect his second promotion up to the Premier League upon his potential arrival, with the 6 foot 3 centre-back in need of revitalising his playing days after fading into the background at Goodison Park.
With Wilder’s track record with getting the very best out of battling figures at the back, this could be the “immense” – as he was once labelled by Harry Redknapp – defender’s most suitable next destination.
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