Football fans have tweeted their confusion at Chris Wilder’s decision not to start Rhian Brewster in Sheffield United’s tie with Southampton.
The bottom-placed Premier League side have amassed only one point all season, with the former Liverpool youngster yet to start another game since their 4-1 drubbing at Chelsea’s hands early in November.
Imagine starting Billy Sharp over Rhian Brewster!? 🤯 I don't know if Wilder is deliberately trying to get the sack, but with 1 point on the board all season he'll surely end up getting the boot soon… #SOUSHU
— Richard Socks 💙 (@SocksyBeast) December 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/gareth79cardiff/status/1338088718738075648
Why on earth does Chris Wilder persist in benching Rhian Brewster?
They've only five PL goals all season and spent £23.5m on him, yet Brewster still doesn't start.
Baffling.
— FPL Bateman (@FPL_Bateman) December 13, 2020
The 20-year-old left the Reds in October in a £23.5m deal, which includes a buy-back clause.
It’s fair to say that the Blades boss’ latest decision has invited questions around Brewster’s future in South Yorkshire, with the forward having only made three starts in seven appearances.
Given that this was supposed to be Wilder’s marquee signing – not to mention the club’s ongoing struggles this term – we have to wonder what it is exactly that the ex-Liverpool starlet is doing (or not doing) to keep him out of the first XI.
With Billy Sharp favoured over the youngster, despite having only registered a single goal all season (one less than current top-scorer Oli McBurnie), surely it couldn’t hurt to give the ex-Red a chance?
We hope it’s just a bedding-in period for Brewster, and that he’ll get more chances as the club’s league campaign goes on – we’d love to see him develop into the kind of forward we’d all hoped he’d become.