44.2% duels won: The Sheffield United player who shouldn’t be at the front of the queue for a new contract yet

Sheffield United have a number of key players out of contract this summer as they weigh up whether to offer out fresh terms or decide against that.

Two of those players in Chris Basham and Billy Sharp will surely be offered new deals despite their age, given how integral both are to the first team when they are available with the duo still proving to be crucial assets at second-tier level.

One man whose future looks less uncertain though is Ben Osborn, who previously looked set to have a reasonably fruitful campaign at Bramall Lane despite his side’s underwhelming form in the early stages of the 2021/22 campaign.

This is because former boss Slavisa Jokanovic, who arrived in South Yorkshire last summer, wanted to implement a 4-2-3-1 system despite seeing the Blades operate with three at the back for several years under Chris Wilder and Paul Heckingbottom with no advanced wingers.

United endured an unsuccessful summer transfer window up until the last couple of days when they were able to get loan deals for multiple players over the line, but even then, they failed to fully address their shortage of options on the wing and this looked set to provide the former Nottingham Forest man with plenty of first-team opportunities.

Unfortunately, the Jokanovic era was a short-lived one with the second-tier side clearly looking uncomfortable with a flat back four and adopting the Serbian’s playing style.

And his sacking proved to be the temporary turning point in the 27-year-old’s season, getting a taster of what was to come in the coming months in his former boss’ final two games in charge when he switched to a back three and continuing to be a bit-part player when Heckingbottom was appointed, a real disappointment considering he