Sheffield United: Daniel Jebbison learns what he must do to become regular starter

The teenage centre-forward scored his first goal for the club since May 2021 during last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Millwall, with another from Jayden Bogle helping Paul Heckingbottom’s side reach the fourth round where they will play Wrexham.

Jebbison’s first strike in United colours came on his full Premier League debut two seasons ago and, speaking as his team attempts to regain its top-flight status, Heckingbottom told The Star the 19-year-old can play a major role between now and the end of the campaign if he becomes more consistent.

Explaining why United’s coaching staff chose to publicly challenge Jebbison to begin realising his potential ahead of the trip to south London, the manager said: “I know how good Daniel can be. Because of that, we set him high standards but we set high standards for everyone here. We don’t lower those for anyone or make special cases.”

“Form will decide,” Heckingbottom continued. “With young players, one of the things you know you are going to get is inconsistency. But when you are sat in my chair, you want to know exactly what you are going to get from everyone. The more consistent he gets, the more minutes he will get.”

Jebbison demonstrated his class by fooling Bartosz Bialkowski to hand United a deserved lead at The Den before Bogle settled the all-Championship affair soon after.

“The players have responded well to him (Jebbison) in training,” Heckingbottom said. “Everyone’s noticed how much of a handful he’s been and you saw the standard needed.”