Paul Heckingbottom issues plea to Sheffield United recruit

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has urged Filip Uremovic to make an instant impact at Bramall Lane if he gets the chance to do so in the coming weeks, speaking to The Star.

The Croatian arrived in South Yorkshire in the late stages of last month following FIFA’s rule change to allow non-Russians to leave the Russian Premier League until the end of the campaign if they wished to do so.

This is an option the centre-back took with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continuing to cause uncertainty in the region – and the 25-year-old now finds himself in a promotion battle as the Blades look to secure a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

His presence is much-needed with Chris Basham and Charlie Goode both unavailable at this stage, causing real problems for Heckingbottom who has enjoyed success with a back-three system since replacing Slavisa Jokanovic back in November.

In fact, it could be argued that this system has been key to their rise up the Championship table, with the Blades failing to adjust effectively to a flat back four under Jokanovic prior to his dismissal.

This preference of sticking to utilising three centre-backs could pay dividends for new signing Uremovic as he looks to win as much game time as possible – and his boss has urged him to take his opportunities with the likes of Jack Robinson, John Egan and Ben Davies not guaranteed to remain fit from now until the end of the season.

Heckingbottom said: “If Filip gets opportunities, he’s got to grasp it and hit the ground running.

“We certainly needed that extra help. If there are any further injuries, then we also needed to bring him here and have him here.”

The Verdict:

This is a real chance for Uremovic and considering the