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Sheffield United have worked wonders by fending off Celtic interest and retaining this key 26-year-old star

Why Sheffield United did a good job by keeping hold of George Baldock

In July, a report from the Daily Record had claimed that Celtic were interested in signing Sheffield United wing-back, George Baldock. In fact, the Hoops even had a £3 million offer rejected for the player.

George Baldock, 26, was a key member of the Blades side promoted as Championship runners-up last season. And he put an end to all the speculation by signing a new three-year contract with Sheffield United last month.

Sheffield United have started well in the Premier League, defeating Crystal Palace at home and coming back from 2-0 down to draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Chris Wilder will be mightily pleased with his team’s performances in the top-flight. One of the Blades’ consistent performances so far has been George Baldock.

Baldock, who has been at Bramall Lane since joining from MK Dons in 2017, had his best game against Crystal Palace.

He put in a complete performance at right wing-back to keep the dangerous Wilfried Zaha at bay, making two tackles, two interceptions and six clearances as he provided a perfect platform for the Blades to seal a valuable 1-0 win against a well-established Premier League side.

Wilder’s 3-5-2 system allows the wing-backs to go forward and create opportunities in the final third without getting worried much about the defence.

This gives George Baldock and Enda Stevens plenty of freedom to constantly overlap and whip in dangerous crosses in the box. Both Baldock and Stevens have shone as wing-backs and have the potential to get even better.

Even if Celtic are a big club and wanted Baldock in the summer, United couldn’t afford to lose one the key members of the squad without even having a chance to replace him.

From the club’s point of view, they did well to keep hold of the 26-year-old and made him feel home by offering a three-year contract.

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And going by the wing-back’s performances in the top-flight, he does have the quality to make a difference at Bramall Lane.

Verdict

Thus, we can conclude by saying that Wilder and co. did the right thing by retaining the services of Baldock. Selling an established, important player of the squad right after achieving top-flight promotion would have turned into a disaster.