Sheffield United Opinion: Blades should sign Gary Madine permanently

According to the Daily Mail, Sheffield United are set to hold talks over the future of Cardiff City loanee Gary Madine before the end of the season, with reports claiming that manager Chris Wilder is impressed with the 28-year-old and wants to make his stay at Bramall Lane permanent.

Madine justified his tag as a ‘promotion lucky charm’ once again, as he helped the Blades secure promotion to the Premier League, having previously guided Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers to promotion-winning campaigns in the Championship and League One respectively.

Sheffield United confirmed their promotion to the top-flight with a 2-0 victory over strugglers Ipswich Town and Madine celebrated the third promotion in his career.

The 28-year-old, who arrived at Bramall Lane on loan from Cardiff City in January, has played a key role for Chris Wilder’s side in their push for automatic promotion, scoring 3 goals and assisting a further couple from 15 appearances in the league.

He made only 5 substitute appearances for the Bluebirds in the Premier League earlier in the season but a loan spell in the Championship has helped him rediscover his old form.

Madine, who joined Cardiff for £6million back in January 2016 from Bolton, is under contract at his parent club until the summer of 2021 but the 28-year-old has expressed his desire to stay at Bramall Lane beyond the end of the current campaign (h/t Daily Mail).

However, it remains to be seen whether Cardiff agree to let him depart permanently, as it seems only a matter of time before relegation from the Premier League is confirmed for Neil Warnock’s side. The Bluebirds might be intent on keeping the ‘luck charm’ at the club in order to secure promotion back to the Premier League in the first time of asking.

To put things into perspective, Sheffield United should look to strike a permanent deal for the in-form 28-year-old centre-forward.

Madine has been a key figure in the second half of the season for the Blades, and although he doesn’t have much experience of playing in the Premier League, Wilder might be tempted to play a gamble on a striker who has a prolific record in the second-tier.

Sheffield, though, should not make the mistake of relying entirely on Madine to deliver the goods in the top-flight and more new arrivals would be necessary if they really want to stay alive in the Premier League.

Madine is still a suspect at the highest level but they can look at him as a useful squad player in the Premier League next season. The 28-year-old has excelled as the focal point of the attack at Bramall Lane this term and they would need his combative presence up front to deal with the competitive nature of the Premier League.

Madine, though not the most skilful of attackers, adds a lot of value to the attack with his aerial ability, which can be a huge asset to the team from set-pieces.

Moreover, he links up really well with his teammates and always shows great levels of commitment on the pitch, with his uncompromised work-rate being one of the hallmarks of his game.

The 28-year-old has averaged 5.1 aerial duels per game in the Championship this season, figures which prove that he has fitted in perfectly to the style of play prevalent at Bramall Lane.

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Sheffield United would need to bring in a new striker to replace the ageing Billy Sharp as the 33-year-old is likely to find life difficult in the Premier League.

Madine is certainly a lot younger and he might play an important role in their bid for survival next season if he manages to make a few improvements to his game. Hence, signing him permanently would be a gamble worth taking for the Blades.