Matt WilliamsThe Swans returned to winning ways last weekend, beating Bristol City 3-1 at home. After a disappointing first half saw Swansea 1-0 down, three second half goals gave Russell Martinโs men all three points.
Next up is a trip to Sheffield United. Last seasonโs Premier League bottom club. The hosts have been in good form recently and find themselves in eighth.
Their January Transfer Window
First team signings
Sheffield United kicked off their January window with the signing of Connor Barratt. The highly-rated 17-year-old arrived from Birmingham. The defender has already represented Republic of Ireland at youth level.
They followed the Barratt signing by bringing in Adam Davies from Stoke. The Welsh goalkeeper arrived for ยฃ250,000. Davies played 12 games for Stoke this season but is yet to make his Sheffield United debut.
Their third and final signing was Charlie Goode. He arrived from Brentford on loan until the end of the season. He is also waiting to make his debut for The Blades.
First team outgoings
Sheffield Unitedโs only permanent sale came when Regan Slater moved to Hull City. The 22-year-old midfielder made just one league appearance in his six years at the club. He spent last season on loan at Hull, featuring in 27 league outings as they won promotion back to the Championship.
Elsewhere, six players departed the club on loan. The first was Zak Brunt who joined Notts County. Harrison Neal made the switch to Southend United on the same day.
Michael Verrips returned to his native Netherlands, joining Fortuna Sittard until the end of the season. The 25-year-old keeper has struggled for game time at Brammall Lane.
The Blades also sent two players to fellow Championship side Millwall. Oliver Burke joined on 21st January before Luke Freeman followed on Transfer Deadline Day.
Their final outgoing saw Lys Mousset join Serie A side Salernitana. Mousset joined Sheffield United from Bournemouth for a club-record ยฃ10 million but has struggled to find consistent form.
Their Captain & Top Scorer
Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp is not only their captain, but also their leading scorer this season.
Born in Sheffield, Sharp began his career at the club in 2004. He was loaned out to Rushden & Diamonds before joining Scunthorpe on a permanent deal in 2005. He enjoyed two prolific seasons at the club, scoring 53 in 82 league games.
His form at Scunthorpe earnt him a move back to Sheffield United. However, he struggled to make a name for himself in his second spell, scoring eight in 51 before being loaned to Doncaster Rovers.
While on loan at Doncaster, Sharp scored 15 in 33 league games. This saw Doncaster sign him permanently, although he would spend just two more seasons at the club.
Sharpโs impressive goalscoring record attracted the attention of promotion-chasing Southampton. He joined in January 2012 for around ยฃ1.8 million and scored nine in 15 outings. Southampton were promoted to the Premier League that season. However, he was no longer a part of their first team after their promotion, making just two Premier League before joining Nottingham Forest on loan.
After scoring 10 in 39 Championship games at Forest, Sharp spent the first half of the 2013-14 season on loan at Reading, before returning to Doncaster on loan in January. He spent one season at Leeds in 2014-15, scoring five in 33.
In 2015-16, Sharp returned to Sheffield United. The Blades were in their fifth consecutive season in League One when he arrived, having missed out via the playoffs in the previous campaign. Although Sharp scored an impressive 21 goals in 44 games, The Blades finished 11th.
Sharpโs second season back at Sheffield United was his most prolific to date. He was an integral part of their title-winning side, scoring a league-high 30 goals in 46 games. Two years later, his 23 goals helped fire The Blades back to the Premier League.
After their relegation, the 36-year-old striker has performed well this season. He currently has 11 goals in 29 games.
Their Manager
Following Slavisa Jovanoviฤโs sacking, Paul Heckingbottom was reappointed as manager in November.
After leaving Manchester United as a youth, Heckingbottom spent much of his early playing career in the lower divisions. He played for Scarborough, Hartlepool United and Darlington in the third and fourth tiers before joining second tier Norwich in 2002.
The former defender also played for Bradford, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Mansfield and Gateshead. He retired in 2011 after making almost 450 club appearances.
Eight years after leaving Barnsley, Heckingbottom was named caretaker manager. His sideโs excellent form and promotion earnt him the permanent job in June 2016, although he departed for Leeds after roughly 18 months.
His Leeds side struggled, winning just 25% of their games. In June 2018, he was sacked and promptly replaced by Marcelo Bielsa. Heckingbottom remained without a job until February 2019, when he was appointed head coach of Hibernian.
After making a strong start, his Hibs side went on a dreadful run in 2019-20. They won just one of their opening 11 games, which saw Heckingbottom sacked after less than nine months.
In July 2020, Heckingbottom was appointed as Sheffield Unitedโs Under-23s coach. Eight months later, he was made interim manager of the first team following Chris Wilderโs departure. They won three of their last six games, albeit after confirming their relegation to the Championship.
Heckingbottom was shortlisted for the permanent job at the beginning of this season. However, the job was instead given to Jokanoviฤ. Nevertheless, it didnโt take long for Heckingbottom to receive the job. Jokanoviฤ was sacked in November and Heckingbottom was appointed on four-and-a-half year deal.
Sheffield United have found form since his return to the dugout. They won each of their first three games and have lost just one of his 11 games in charge.
Previous Meeting
The two sides met in the second weekend of the season. Both had lost their first games, with Swansea losing to Blackburn and Sheffield United suffering defeat at home to Birmingham. However, both had won their previous games in the EFL Cup first round.
Swansea welcomed Sheffield United to the newly renamed Swansea.com Stadium. Both Flynn Downes and Joel Piroe made their league debuts for the club.
In a low-key affair, either side were able to find a breakthrough, earning both their first points of the season.
Final score โ Swansea City 0-0 Sheffield United
Match Preview
Russell Martin confirmed that both Kyle Naughton and January signing Nathanael Ogbeta will be unavailable this weekend. However, Swansea have no further injury concerns or suspensions.
Last weekendโs win saw Michael Obafemi grab his second home goal in as many games, while Joel Piroe scored after a difficult run of form. The re-emergence of Jamie Paterson has proved crucial for Swansea. Finley Burns impressed last time out and could be set to start once more.
Expect a tricky game, with Sheffield United in strong form. They have been tough to beat since Heckingbottom was appointed, although Derby County were able to pick up three points against them last month.
Swansea wonโt have long to relax after this weekend. Their next game sees promotion-chasing Bournemouth travel to South Wales.
