Sheffield United had a mixed bag of results on international duty over the past week.
There was heartbreak for George Baldock and Greece last night as they lost to Georgia on penalties to miss out on the Euros.
In similar fashion, Wales also missed out as Poland did them on penalties. That means Alan Knill, Jack Lester and Adam Davies will all miss out on going to Germany.
Anel Ahmedhodzic, too, missed out as his Bosnia side were beaten by Ukraine last week.
On the flipside, James McAtee has enjoyed two big wins with the England under-21s. While for the England Men’s Elite Squad (Under-20s), Oliver Arblaster made his impact known against the Czech Republic yesterday.
Oliver Arblaster scores for England Elite squad
The Sheffield United youngster is among the top-rated young players at Bramall Lane right now.
After signing a new contract recently, Arblaster has featured under Chris Wilder and was rewarded for that with a call-up to the England Elite squad this week.
Arblaster was then given a place in the starting XI against Czech Republic yesterday and duly justified that selection within three minutes, as he fired into the bottom corner. Footage of the finish by Arblaster, plus Dane Scarlett’s double, can be seen on YouTube.
A big few months coming for Oliver Arblaster
The new contract for Arblaster and then his inclusion from the off at Bournemouth says a lot about how the club and Chris Wilder view the young midfielder.
Now, it’s all about kicking on for Arblaster and progressing. That will include getting more game-time between now and the end of the season.
In those games, Arblaster needs to show that he can be the man in midfield. Next season, likely in the Championship, is likely to see the youngster play a huge part for United.
But he needs to get it right in these coming months. Some good performances in the middle and Wilder will no doubt trust him going into next season.
If he doesn’t step up and looks out of sorts, then the club will have to look for reinforcements come the summer.
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