Why Sheffield United should keep their eyes off Antonee Robinson
According to The Sun, Sheffield United are currently leading the race to complete a £1.5million bargain swoop for Wigan Athletic left-back Antonee Robinson.
The 23-year-old has also been linked with Premier League newcomers West Brom but the Blades have leapfrogged their rivals in the race to sign the defender and hope to get a deal done within 48 hours. (h/t The Sun)
Robinson had been linked with a move to AC Milan before the January deadline following his impressive run of form for the Latics in the EFL Championship. However, a proposed move to the San Siro collapsed after some concerns regarding irregular heartbeat appeared in the medical. (h/t Sun)
Profile
Antonee Robinson rose through the youth ranks of Everton but he never made a senior competitive appearance for the Toffees. The left-back spent time on loan at Bolton Wanderers and Wigan, both in the Championship, before signing a three-year deal with the latter back in the summer of 2019.
The 23-year-old made 38 appearances over the course of the 2019-20 Championship season, registering a goal and an assist apiece to finish the campaign as one of the top left-backs in the English second-tier.
Why Sheffield United don’t need him
Make no mistake, Robinson is definitely a massive talent with huge potential to evolve into a quality player in any top league in Europe after proving his credentials in the Championship. However, he is not someone who Sheffield United need to be looking at this summer, despite his rather modest-looking price tag.
The Blades conceded only 39 goals in 38 top-flight games last season – the fourth-best defensive record behind the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.
Indeed, Sheffield United’s discipline and consistency at the back was one of the major positives from their 2019/20 campaign and those numbers are enough to prove that Chris Wilder doesn’t need to invest in a new defender this summer.
Enda Stevens excelled as the first-choice left wing-back in Wilder’s back-three system, starting each of the Blades’ 38 league fixtures and chipping in with 2 goals and 4 assists. Such was his consistency that Wilder hardly had to call upon an alternative. Wilder had the likes of Ben Osborn and Jack Robinson at his disposal too.
Jack Robinson, of course, featured prominently as a left-sided central defender alongside the likes of Jack O’Connell and John Egan but he’s more than capable of playing as a left-back or as a wing-back, as he showed at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.
Read more
- Why Sheffield United should continue in their pursuit of Rhian Brewster
- Why Sheffield United must offload unwanted goalkeeper Jake Eastwood
Verdict
Suffice to say, Sheffield United already seem to have all their bases covered as far as their backline is concerned. Antonee Robinson could find regular minutes hard to come by at Bramall Lane, despite his talent and potential.
On the contrary, the Blades had the worst scoring record (39) in the PL’s top ten, so Wilder should look to bring in reinforcements further up the pitch to bolster the firepower.
