'Relief' in securing deals for young talents

Ben Meakin, BladesPod

After a summer where Sheffield United sold two of the stars of our promotion season due to them entering the final years of their contract, the Blades have shown a willingness to prevent this situation from happening again by giving new deals to younger players – much to my relief.

Not only are there positive noises about a possible u-turn on striker Dan Jebbison's contract stance, but the club this week extended the contract of teenage forward Antwoine Hackford and 20-year-old midfielder Andre Brooks. That comes just a few months after the Blades tied down Will Osula and highly-rated Louie Marsh to long-term deals.

The Brooks contract is particularly well-deserved, with the local lad parachuted into the team by Chris Wilder in an attempt to give the side a spark. He hasn't lit the Premier League alight – unsurprising considering the Liverpool game in December was his first ever league start – but he hasn't looked out of place either, to his immense credit.

Playing in a struggling side in the top flight and not looking out of his depth feels like a fantastic baseline for a player who still has plenty of room to refine and develop his game.

It's a relief to know that that development will now continue to take place with his hometown club, along with a clutch of other promising youngsters at Bramall Lane.