'Hard not to feel sympathy' for injured Brewster

What next for Rhian Brewster? With reports of yet another serious hamstring injury, it sounds like Brewster's season is once again over before he has the opportunity to make any meaningful contribution.

Objectively, his United career has been a disaster. Signed for more than £20m in 2020, he did not hit the net at all that season as the Blades were relegated from the Premier League. He showed flashes in the Championship, but serious injuries constantly disrupted any rhythm he looked to have discovered. The net result is four league goals in four seasons for United.

None of this is Brewster's fault, I should stress. Even allowing for the fact he will have been financially well-remunerated during his United contract, it is hard not to feel sympathy for a promising young footballer whose career has been completely derailed by injury.

Brewster still has a year left to run on his contract, but I have to wonder if there is a situation where both club and player come together in the summer and agree to part ways. That would be unusual - and United would need to take a financial hit - but after four stop-start years for Brewster, maybe a fresh start in fresh surroundings would be appealing to him as he once again builds back to fitness.

From United's point of view, there is almost zero chance that they would look to extend Brewster's contract beyond 2025 - it would take a miracle season next year to even render it a possibility, and Brewster's injury history suggests that will not even get the opportunity to happen.

So why keep him around, potentially occupying first-team minutes and coaching that could go towards the development of younger strikers who are part of the long-term future?

Ben Meakin can be found on BladesPod