2 days Ago
As a youngster schooled on the perfectly manicured pitches of Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, one would expect Alfie Gilchrist to be a classy, ball-playing defender. And he is. But that is far from the only string to the 20-year-old’s bow, with his loan spell at Sheffield United already highlighting another welcome attribute - a sheer love of defending.
He is, in that respect, perhaps an ideal United player. Each football club has their own unique identity and set of principles, and the Blades’ is well documented - players who can play, but also don’t mind rolling their sleeves up and grafting when the situation demands. Gilchrist has that in abundance, celebrating a blocked cross on Friday night at Hull City as if he had scored the winner at the other end.
Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Star, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Souttar transfer hint dropped amid good Blades form and Foxes exile His start to life at the Lane led to a conversation in the press box during that game as to whether he had actually been beaten in a one-on-one scenario since he arrived on loan from Chelsea in the summer. In an era that is obsessed with defenders being able to pass and dribble and seemingly do everything but actually defend, it is a welcome to see a youngster who appears to actively live for it.
“You want to see him in training,” said boss Chris Wilder when asked about Gilchrist. “The amount of badges he gets on his body and the blocks he gets in. There's an art to that and there's an attitude to that.
Even in training, he’s determined that the ball isn’t going into the back of the net. He’s got a real grit about him and we’re delighted with him. “There's a little bit of a Cockney mafia going on between him and Sydie Peck at the moment, I think everybody's picked up on that! But he's settled in well, as have all the new boys.
There's a real good feel about it, the group are really together. I think you've seen that right the way through, it's a together group. it needed that refresh, I wasn't being critical of anything but it needed that and there's a good vibe about it.
Alfie's done well.” Advertisement Advertisement Right back was a priority position for the Blades in the summer after the departures of George Baldock and Jayden Bogle, who went to rivals Leeds United in pre-season, with a loan move for Wolves’ Ki-Jana Hoever initially lined up. But after he failed his medical at United, the Blades swooped for Gilchrist - who plays the role slightly more conservatively in an attacking sense but is much more solid going the other way.
Big Derby injury blow could open door for familiar face in Lane clash “Alfie is good when he's backing up Brooksy or Jes, and he can play right of a three,” Wilder added. “He's not a Jayden Bogle, he's not going to be in the other penalty area 8/10 but you've seen his defensive qualities. He's quick, he's a good defender.
He was a big signing for us and he's going to enjoy it. He is enjoying it at the minute and he'll get better, as the team will. “We want to be an 8/10 team every game.
There are times we're going to be a nine and times we'll be a seven, but I don't want us to be a nine and then a five. I don't want us to be a yo-yo team. we have to look for that in individual players and Alfie's been consistently good.
Hopefully that'll give us the performances we're after.”.
