Why Sheffield United must sign Andy King in the winter

According to Daily Mail, Leicester City’s most loyal and heroic servant Andy King could be headed out of the King Power Stadium this January.

The midfielder has won the League One, the Championship and the Premier League with the Foxes, becoming the first player to achieve that feat in the modern era.  However, the 30-year-old has been left out of Claude Puel’s squad for this Premier League campaign.

Andy King didn’t even make it to the bench for the recent Carabao Cup victory over Southampton. Puel opted for Leicester youngster Khanya Leshabela instead of the Wales international. The inclusion of the 19-year-old shows how King’s stock has fallen.

With the winter transfer window around the corner, several Premier League and Championship clubs have been linked with the former Chelsea youth academy player (h/t Daily Mail). Sheffield United are among the clubs interested in signing King in January. The Blades are in dire need of strengthening their chances of promotion to the Premier League.

The Blades are currently 6th with 34 points after 20 games and are level on points with Derby County. Sheffield United need all the resources they can get with Aston Villa and Birmingham City hot on their heels.

Andy King is a fine midfielder and would be vital in adding to Chris Wilder’s squad depth. He would offer competition and quality back up for the likes of Oliver Norwood, John Fleck and Mark Duffy in the middle of the park.

Beyond the 33-year-old Duffy, the Bramall Road side do not have many attacking midfield options. The Blades rely on squad players Paul Coutts and John Lundstram when the veteran Irishman needs a rest. To that end, King would certainly provide more attacking depth to United’s squad. He’d possibly even be a step-up on Duffy, who has scored three goals and two assists in 16 Championship games.

King has plenty of experience in England’s second-tier competition. The 30-year-old has scored 40 goals and provided 16 assists in 201 Championship games. The Leicester ace even won promotion from the Championship with the Foxes.

He went on to make 25 appearances as the East Midlands club recorded an incredible Premier League triumph in the 2015/16 campaign. King has scored eight goals and provided three assists in 94 top-flight games.

Over two consecutive Championship seasons, Andy King scored 24 times. For a player who doesn’t rely on his pace, King could still hit decent numbers in Sheffield United’s attacking set-up.

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The Yorkshire club need to continue their impressive start to the season to have any chance of making the promotion playoffs in May. The blades currently find themselves just six points behind league leaders Norwich City. With further reinforcements in January, they have every chance of achieving promotion at the end of the season.