'Basham will sit in the pantheon of great Blades players'

Ben Meakin, BladesPod

I hope I am wrong, but the horrific ankle injury suffered by Chris Basham this weekend could signal the end of the line for a modern Blades great.

If that proves to be the case, I am sure Bash’s career with United will sit in the pantheon of great players from the club’s history. He is certain to be remembered as one of the most popular to pull on the red-and-white stripes in the past few decades.

Part of that is the way it started, almost 10 years ago, when Basham first signed in League One. He was not bad, but he was not good either; just very mediocre under a succession of managers.

Enter Chris Wilder, and Basham was converted into an all-action central defender who dribbled out of defence and got into the opposition box. Basham’s rise from League One mediocrity to top-flight relevance mirrored the club’s own.

United, aided by Basham’s marauding runs and never-say-die defending, climbed the leagues and finished in the top 10 of the Premier League in 2019-20. He was so pivotal that Alan Shearer picked him alongside Virgil van Dijk in his team of the season.

'Bashambauer' has brought me an unbelievable amount of enjoyment as a Sheffield United fan. I have taken great delight in watching opposition defenders – and fans – panic whenever he started dancing forward with the ball, or suddenly burst into the area on the overlap, or any of the other highlight moments he has treated us to down the years.

He’s given us big goals, absurd pirouettes, and three promotions. And he used to work at McDonald's.

Whatever happens next for Basham – and I wish him the speediest of recoveries – I just want to say: thank you.

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