Sheffield United have endured a very difficult start to the Championship season and the Blades are in need of bringing in fresh faces in key areas before the window closes.

The midfield area has been an issue for the Blades in terms of their recruitment this summer, with Slavisa Jokanovic having been keen to add in that area since his arrival at Bramall Lane.

A move for former Leeds United midfielder Ronaldo Vieira looked all but done at one stage. However, that has now fallen through and left the Blades needing to quickly move on to other targets.

According to a recent report from Northern Echo, Sheffield United are one of a group of teams that are in the hunt for Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff ahead of the transfer deadline.

It is believed that the Blades, alongside fellow early-season strugglers Nottingham Forest, are leading the race for the midfielder’s signature.

That comes with both of the two clubs having made ‘concrete offers’ to Newcastle over a potential loan deal for the 21-year-old.

However, there is also believed to be rival interest from both Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town. That comes with both of them still searching for midfield additions to their squad before the transfer window closes.

Despite all of the interest in Longstaff, it was not known whether he would be made available for a loan move before the end of the month.

That comes despite the 21-year-old having not managed to make it into their matchday squads for their first two Premier League matches of the campaign.

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce though has now confirmed to the Daily Mail that the Magpies have come to a decision that Longstaff might be best served by moving out on loan before the deadline. While he also confessed that they have received a couple of enquiries over his potential availability.

Considering Sheffield United have already failed to secure a move for Vieira this summer, they can not afford to allow another one of their key transfer targets to slip through their fingers.

Now that Longstaff looks set to be available for a loan move they must go all out to convince Newcastle they are the right club to be entrusted with his long-term development.

Nottingham Forest have just managed to secure a loan move for Manchester United’s in-demand midfielder James Garner.

That shows that the Reds are still being viewed as an attractive potential destination for young talents from Premier League clubs despite their poor start to the season.

Sheffield United should be in a strong position to convince Newcastle that they can give Longstaff the chance for regular game time this season. He would likely be a guaranteed starter for them given their start to the campaign.

Jokanovic has already demonstrated that he can work with young and talented players and take their game to a new level as he did with Ryan Sessegnon at Fulham.

Therefore, the Blades’ coaching and development of players should be seen as an attractive proposition for Newcastle.

Longstaff is a player that would be able to bring a lot of the qualities that Sheffield United have been lacking from the middle of the park at the start of the campaign.

The 21-year-old would also be determined to prove a point to Newcastle that he should be knocking on the door for regular starts next term.

Therefore, Sheffield United have to take this chance and go all out to secure Longstaff’s arrival ahead of the other sides that are interested in him.

Doing so would be an encouraging sign that they are doing the right things to address their poor start to the campaign.