"Stays at Bramall Lane" - Sheffield United: Chris Wilder urged against offloading defender | OneFootball

The 22-year-old has made a strong impact at Bramall Lane this season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sheffield United have been one of the standout teams in the Championship this season, and they are on course to be involved in the battle for automatic promotion once again under Chris Wilder.

The Blades currently sit second in the table, level on points with Leeds United but behind their Yorkshire rivals on goal difference.

Wilder's side are on an impressive six-game unbeaten run, winning five of those matches in the process, and after a very successful summer transfer window, supporters may be looking forward to January to help strengthen the squad further.

However, the winter window also offers Wilder the chance to free up some spaces in his Sheffield United team, and with some of the younger players potentially looking for minutes out on loan, the 57-year-old has some tough decisions to make, including one involving Femi Seriki.

Verdict made on Seriki's immediate future

The 2024/25 campaign has been a breakout season for Seriki, with the right-back finally getting the opportunity that he may feel he has deserved over the course of the last few years.

In the past, the 22-year-old has spent time out on loan at Boston United, Rochdale and, most recently, Rotherham United. But in the summer, he was kept hold of by his manager and was given the chance to impress.

He has shown glimpses of promise, and there will be hope that he can make the position his own in the coming seasons, and for Football League World's Sheffield United Fan Pundit, Jimmy from Blades Ramble, he should be kept hold of in January.

When asked by FLW if he believes that the full-back needs game-time out on loan, or if he should be kept hold of for squad depth, Jimmy said: "If you had asked me about Femi Seriki prior to the Oxford game, then I would have been on the fence because Wilder’s clearly a big fan of him.

"There are a lot of fans that are now thinking that he's a real potential star, and I've been on the fence about him a little bit because I still think Alfie Gilchrist is our number one right-back. Because of that, he's going to have limited opportunities in our side.

"The conundrum with Seriki is that he has already had three loans. All three loans have been unsuccessful. He's not been able to break into the teams. I think all three have been relegated in the season that he's been there, so it's not worked out well when out on loan for Seriki."

He continued: "But I have to say, particularly against Oxford, he got the man of the match award, and it was fully deserved. He is now certainly staking a claim for a place in this side. I would still put Gilchrist slightly in front. But what he gives us is options.

"He's a different full-back to Gilchrist, who is your traditional defensive-minded full-back. He puts in very solid strong tackles, he marks his man well, there are a lot of the things defensively that you'd want from a full back or a defender.

"Seriki can do those things, probably not quite to the level of Gilchrist, but he's got raw pace, and he's very comfortable carrying the ball. He provides us with an attacking threat down the right side, which sometimes can leave him caught out, but against teams like Oxford when we're anticipated to be attacking quite a lot, he's ideal.

"So, Seriki stays at Bramall Lane for me."

Seriki's performance v Oxford proves he is ready for the Championship

While his opportunities this season have been limited to chances from the bench, against Oxford on Tuesday evening he was given the starting role with Gilchrist being rotated to allow him to be fresh for their huge clash with Sunderland on Friday.

Despite the Chelsea loanee watching on from the bench, his impact was not missed and Seriki put in a tremendous performance at right-back.

The 22-year-old barely put a foot wrong at Bramall Lane against The U's and ensured that any attacking threat from Sheffield United's opponents was quashed before it became an issue. He was defensively sound throughout, and was rewarded by his manager by playing the entire 90 minutes.

As per FotMob, he completed all but one of the 63 passes he attempted to make, and was a constant threat down the right flank. Seriki proved extremely difficult to shake off the ball, and while he did not manage to find a teammate with any of his crosses, he often made Oxford's Gregory Leigh question which way he was going to attack him.

Seriki is excellent cover for Gilchrist, who was not missed on Tuesday, despite how well he has played this season, and keeping the young right-back at Sheffield United in January must be seen as a priority for Wilder.