Vini Souza dodges Sheffield United responsibility as he points finger elsewhere over Brazil omission

Signed as United's midfield enforcer, to give them some much-needed physicality and protection in the middle of the park, Souza has endured a difficult debut campaign in England following his summer move from Lommel and United's record, with 74 goals conceded and a goal difference of -50, tells its own story. In fairness to Souza there have been some good moments - his performance, capped by a goal, away at Luton was one of United's best individual displays of the season - and only one player, Fulham's João Palhinha, has made more tackles in the Premier League this season.

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But there have also been a fair share of less-sparkling performances and Souza must also shoulder some of the blame for United's top-flight struggle this season, rather than say: "I'm alright, Jack" and point the finger elsewhere. Speaking recently to Flamengo-dedicated outlet Coluna do Fla, in an interview unsanctioned by United, Souza was asked if he hoped for a call-up to the Brazil squad under the new coach Dorival Júnior.

“Honestly? No,” Souza admitted, speaking in Portuguese with his comments translated. “Not because of me, but because of the situation at my club. I think that for the national team it’s a bit of a problem. That’s my opinion. But not in relation to my football. I think that for my football I could [get called up]. I really could. But there’s the whole thing, you know. My team doesn’t keep the ball much either. That’s very important for the national team. So it’s going to weigh a bit. And the players who went can defend and have the ball, so they can stand out more. And, well, the guys are doing a brilliant job too. So I was really cool.”

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In fairness to Souza his point about possession is at least a fair one. United's average of 35.7 per cent so far this season is comfortably the lowest in the Premier League while Dorival is able to call upon English-based technicians including Andreas Pereira, Bruno Guimaraes, Douglas Luiz, Joao Gomes and Lucas Paqueta for this month's friendlies against England and Spain, after losing Manchester United's Casemiro to injury.

But in United's current predicament his comments are unlikely to go down well amongst fans and even teammates and staff, who will be keen for players to take their share of responsibility for the Blades' sorry plight rather than appear to direct it elsewhere. Souza has cut a largely happy figure at Bramall Lane since his summer arrival, with staff behind the scenes speaking positively about his character and demeanour, but an on-field spat with teammate Jack Robinson at Wolves, which risked a potential double red-card after a VAR check but was played down by boss Chris Wilder, also raised eyebrows.

Speaking after the win at Luton, he described his teammates as "like family" and added: "In the bad moments, we stay together." His latest comments would suggest otherwise - placing extra scrutiny on his own performances in the final 10 games of a season shaping up as one to forget for everyone concerned.