Sheffield United: Prince Abdullah's Rhian Brewster prediction could not have gone much worse - View | OneFootball

It has not worked out for striker Rhian Brewster since his big money move to Sheffield United from Liverpool in 2020.

Sheffield United will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship this season.

The Blades were relegated from the Premier League last season after a disastrous campaign that saw them accumulate just 16 points but they look to be in a strong position to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt.

Despite ongoing uncertainty over the club's ownership situation, it was an impressive summer transfer window for United, with manager Chris Wilder bringing in 10 new signings.

While many of the Blades' new additions have made a positive impact, the same cannot be said for all of those who have arrived at Bramall Lane over the years, and one such example is striker Rhian Brewster, who remains on the club's books.

Brewster became United's record signing when he joined the club for a fee of £23.5 million in October 2020, but he has struggled to repay the significant investment in him, and a previous prediction made by owner Prince Abdullah has certainly not come to fruition.

Rhian Brewster has failed to live up to Prince Abdullah prediction

Shortly after Wilder's controversial departure from the club in March 2021, Prince Abdullah conducted an interview with Sky Sports in which he criticised the former manager's recruitment, revealing that he ignored suggestions of potential signings from the board.

However, Prince Abdullah said that he was pleased with two additions - goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Brewster - and he predicted that the pair would become mainstays in the Blades' team.

"Our biggest two signings this year, Brewster and Ramsdale, I think will be very good signings," Prince Abdullah said, quoted by Yorkshire Live.

"Ramsdale is already turning the corner and is playing very well. Him and Brewster will be the cornerstone of the team next year and the years after.

"I am not talking about those two players, I am talking about this year we needed players to help us this season. Not players to help us in the future."

Prince Abdullah was proven right about Ramsdale, and after impressing at Bramall Lane in the 2020-21 season, despite his side suffering relegation from the Premier League, he made the move to Arsenal for a fee that could rise to £30 million.

However, while Brewster has remained with United for a number of years, Prince Abdullah's confidence that the striker would be a success was misplaced, and it is fair to say that he will be considered as a transfer flop.

Rhian Brewster's Sheffield United spell has been a disaster

Given that Brewster had been on the books of Chelsea and Liverpool in the early stages of his career, it is easy to see why the Blades decided to take a gamble on the striker - particularly given the productive loan spell he had enjoyed at Swansea City in the Championship in the 2019-20 season, scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances.

Much was expected of Brewster when he made the switch to South Yorkshire, but prior to the start of this season, he had scored just five goals in four years for United, and he has been plagued by injuries throughout his time at the club.

Brewster's injury problems do offer some mitigation for his struggles at Bramall Lane, and the fact he was the Blades' club-record signing placed a lot of pressure on his shoulders at a young age, but it is difficult to defend his poor goalscoring record.

The 24-year-old does have one final opportunity to salvage his United career this season before his contract expires in the summer, but in truth, there is little to suggest that his fortunes in front of goal will improve any time soon.

After returning to the club for a second spell in charge last season, Wilder issued a passionate defence of Brewster, admitting that hearing people criticise the striker was one of his "biggest bugbears".

Despite failing to get on the scoresheet in the whole of last season, it seems that Wilder still retains faith in the former England youth international, and before the start of the campaign, he insisted that Brewster would come good for the Blades.

"I’ve got no doubt that he’ll score goals for us," Wilder said, quoted by The Star.

"He scores all the time in training and so he can do it out there on the pitch for real as well. We know that and he knows that. I’ve seen it before with players, when they’ve struggled in front of goal.

"It reminds me of when we had David McGoldrick here a while back and he went through a really barren patch. But he kept doing what he had to do, retained everyone’s backing because of that, and eventually he exploded in front of goal. Didzy went on to become one of the most popular players here in recent times. Sometimes it just takes perseverance and a little bit of spark and then it’s lift-off."

With competition for places from Kieffer Moore and Tyrese Campbell, it is difficult to see Brewster being a regular starter for United this season as they target an immediate Premier League return, but given that he still has Wilder's backing, he will get opportunities to impress, prove his doubters wrong and Prince Abdullah's prediction right.