Meet the opposition | Sheffield United
As the Swans prepare to host Sheffield United on Saturday, we take a closer look at the South Yorkshire club.
What's their story?
A side steeped in history, Sheffield United were crowned champions of the Football League in 1899, and have won the FA Cup on four occasions - in 1899, 1902, 1915, and 1925.
After over a decade of top-flight football, they were relegated to the Championship in 2004, once again in 2007, and spent six seasons in League One before finally tasting Premier League football again in 2019. They finished ninth in their first season back, but their second campaign ended with them finishing bottom.
Form guide
Sheffield United had a season to forget in 2020-21, losing 29 games on their way back down to the Championship.
The Blades lost 8 of their last eleven fixtures last term, and started the new season with a home defeat to Birmingham City.
However, they bounced back in midweek with a 1-0 win over Carlisle in the Carabao Cup, with Rhian Brewster scoring his first goal for the club.
The Gaffer
Jokanović was named as the Blades’ new boss in May, for what will be his third job in English football.
The Serb has managed in seven countries over the course of 14 years. He began his coaching in his home country of Serbia, where he managed Partizan, before taking over clubs in Thailand, Bulgaria, Spain, England (Watford and Fulham), Israel and Qatar. He has won five trophies, along with leading Fulham to Premier League promotion.
A physically imposing midfielder, his 18-year playing career saw him play in Serbia, Spain and England, spending two seasons with Chelsea.
The Captain
Billy Sharp began his career in the Sheffield United academy in 2004. Since leaving the club in 2005, he has returned to the Blades on two separate occasions - in 2007 and 2015.
Sharp made history in 2019 when he scored his 220th professional goal, making him the highest-scoring English-born player in English professional football this century. Just a month later, Sharp bagged his 100th goal for the Blades in a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa.
He has three promotions to his name – two with the Blades and one with Southampton.
The key men
Rhian Brewster became an instant hit in SA1 during a loan spell from Liverpool in the second half of the 2019-20 season. The striker scored 11 times in 22 appearances as he helped the Swans reach the Championship play-offs.
Sander Berge arrived on British shores in 2020 for a then-club record fee of £20.7m. The 6ft 5in midfielder is highly intelligent on the ball and has the ability to control the tempo of the game. The Norwegian picked up a hamstring injury which kept him sidelined for three months. Despite this, hopes are high that the young talent can lead this team back to winning ways this season, although he has been linked with a move away.
Oli McBurnie, another player well known to the Swans, is entering his third season with the Blades. He struck six goals in his maiden season at Bramall Lane as the Blades finished ninth in the topflight. A big fan favourite in South Wales, he scored 26 goals in 56 games for the Swans after joining the club from Bradford City in 2015.
