Sheffield United: The player set to make or break this season's Premier League hopes

Assuming, of course, they continue developing and remain at the football club.

But right now, with seven games remaining this season and only eight points separating the Championship’s third and 10th placed teams, it is all about the present.

Despite being 36 years of age, that means Billy Sharp appears to hold the key to United’s promotion hopes. Ruled-out with a hamstring injury which may or may not also preclude his involvement against Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night, the veteran centre-forward was badly missed during yesterday’s defeat by Stoke City; a result which saw Paul Heckingbottom’s men surrender their grip on the play-off positions and return home in eighth.

Yesterday’s contest at the bet365 Stadium, settled by John Egan’s second-half own goal, numbed the senses of everyone who witnessed it and seemingly, given the lack of genuine chances created both sides created, those taking part in it too.

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On-loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers and surely destined to return unless United can go up, Morgan Gibbs-White threatened to break the tedium during the opening exchanges before, missing his favourite partner-in-crime at the top end of the pitch, being suffocated by the malaise affecting everyone else.

“I wasn’t happy with the result, or the performance,” Heckingbottom admitted afterwards, making no attempt to conceal his true emotions despite adopting a measured tone. “We lacked quality in the areas that mattered.” Which, although he resisted the temptation to say so, pretty much covered the entire pitch.

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sharp-speaks-out-about-his-contract-3610415

Having scored 15 goals this season and claimed seven assists, the news that Sharp had failed to fully recover from the problem he suffered towards the end of last month’s win over Barnsley was also going to represent a blow to United’s hopes of beating Michael O’Neill’s side. With a thigh muscle strain sustained in training also ruling Oli McBurnie out, Heckingbottom had no choice but to task Jebbison, a precocious talented but inexperienced teenager, to spearhead the visitors’ attack.

Expertly marshalled by his former team mate Phil Jagielka, released by United at the end of last term, Jebbison made little impression on the fixture. When he tired towards the end, the dearth of tried and tested options at Heckingbottom’s disposal was exposed still further when another 18 year-old, Will Osula, was summoned from the bench.

With hindsight, given the fact they are attempting to reach the Premier League, perhaps the squad reprofiling exercise which saw Lys Mousset and Oli Burke leave in January should have been postponed until the summer.

Neither Jebbison nor Osula were to blame for United’s loss, which continued their chequered form away from home of late. In fact, aware that Jagielka turns 40 in August, Jebbison did exactly the right thing by making several runs beyond him during the opening skirmishes; inviting his colleagues to ‘turn’ the City man. It was bemusing, therefore, to see him get told to ‘come short’ by older members of United’s starting eleven. Predictably, Jebbison acquiesced. Privately, Jagelka probably breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“If we’d have played better,” Heckingbottom confessed, “They’d have played better as well.”

Sharp’s personality was as much of a miss as his finishing skills yesterday. United simply can’t afford to lose him if they want to fulfil their potential this term.

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/stoke-city-v-sheffield-united-injury-update-provided-on-billy-sharp-and-oli-mcburnie-3638298