Loren Moron celebrates after scoring a goal (Getty Images)
Back in August, Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo (h/t Examiner Live) had mentioned Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur among the potential suitors for Real Betis striker Loren Moron. The source reported that an unnamed English top-flight club had a £10.75million bid for Moron turned down by the La Liga outfit.
Moron has a release clause of £45million at Betis but as per the report, the Spanish club were happy to entertain bids in the region of £16 to £18million for the centre-forward.
Loren Moron plied his trade with Estepona, UD Marbella, Marbella FC, and Velez in the Spanish fourth-tier before joining Real Betis on a free transfer in January 2015. The striker initially featured for Betis B in the third and fourth-tiers and was rewarded for his prolific goalscoring form with a promotion to the first-team in January 2018.
The 26-year-old made a brilliant start to his La Liga career with 7 goals in 15 appearances towards the back end of the 2017-18 campaign. However, he tailed off in the following season and managed just 6 goals in 33 league outings for Betis in 2018-19. Moron, though, regained his form last term and bagged 12 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions.
Sheffield United scored only 39 goals en route to their impressive 9th-place finish in the Premier League last season, which was one of the worst scoring records in the entire division.
In response, the Blades smashed their club-record fee to secure the services of highly-rated England U-21 starlet Rhian Brewster from Liverpool. Oliver Burke also joined Chris Wilder’s ranks as a part of a deal that saw Callum Robinson head the other way to West Brom.
However, United’s fortunes have been on a downward spiral ever since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. The Blades have lost seven of their eight opening league fixtures so far and currently languish in the relegation zone. The Yorkshire outfit have only found the net four times in 8 games, which pretty much sums up their nightmarish start to the season.
The likes of David McGoldrick, Billy Sharp, and Oliver McBurnie have all failed miserably while Brewster is yet to justify his price tag. Lys Mousset’s injury hasn’t made things any easier for Wilder, although the Frenchman is expected to return by the end of the year.
Suffice to say, Sheffield United getting engaged in a relegation fight would represent a significant step backwards considering they finished in the top half of the table last season.
To put things into perspective, the Blades should consider bringing in a new striker when the transfer window reopens in January. And making a renewed attempt to sign Loren Moron from Real Betis could well be the answer to their lack of goals. The Spaniard has blossomed into a decent goalscorer in his homeland over the past three seasons, thus making him more than worth a punt for a goal-shy Sheffield United.
A track record of 27 goals and 7 assists in 103 appearances can’t be regarded as prolific by any means. While Moron’s consistency in the La Liga has been called into question several times, his ability to score crucial goals certainly can’t be overlooked. The 26-year-old still has his best years ahead of him and will be expected to make significant improvements to his game moving forward.
Taking that into consideration, the Blades should definitely go back in the market for Loren Moron in January, subject to his availability at a reasonable price.