Sheffield United owner blasts Chris Wilder for Rhian Brewster £23m deal

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Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah has openly criticised former boss Chris Wilder for how he conducted himself around the Rhian Brewster transfer last summer.

Liverpool managed to get £23m for the striker’s services, which considering he’s made 20 Premier League appearances without scoring a goal, looks like a very good piece of business from the selling club…

According to the Prince, Wilder played his cards too publicly in the pursuit of Brewster – and he reckons they could’ve acquired the forward on a loan deal if Wilder wasn’t so open in his admiration of our former attacker.

“It also didn’t help that with Brewster that Chris talked about him before we even signed him,” he said, reported in Wales Online.

“I thought, and Stephen (Bettis, club chief executive) thought we maybe could have got him on loan and if we had stayed in the Premier League, we would be obliged to buy him.

“I wanted him to give me four or five targets and give me room to negotiate with the other clubs and room to bring in any of the five. I needed recruitment to change, and for Chris to be more open minded.

“When it comes to recruitment it can’t be my way or the highway every time, only this player or nobody else. We need to have more options then it puts us in a better negotiating position.”

We feel a little sorry for Brewster, in truth. He’s a finisher – a brilliant one, at that – but the Blades have barely created a chance all season.

As a result, he’s often been isolated up top, feeding on less than scraps, and then harshly criticised as a result.

He’s still a very good prospect, but we’d be surprised if Liverpool took up the option we have to buy him back at any stage…

Hopefully, he’ll score plenty in the Championship next season and re-find some confidence.

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