Former Sheffield United shot-stopper Paddy Kenny believes the potential addition of three players at Bramall Lane in January is a 'good number', speaking to Football Insider.

This verdict comes after Slavisa Jokanovic admitted he would be seeking two wingers and a holding midfielder in the winter window, in a bid to turn around their fortunes after an underwhelming start to their campaign.

Serbian Jokanovic will be eager to improve the Blades' form before then to give his side the best possible chance of finishing in the top six this term, as they currently sit in 17th, nine points off the play-off zone as things stand and in real danger of being cut adrift from the promotion race unless they can end their four-game winless run and cut out their inconsistency.

 

 

In his quest to improve their results, the South Yorkshire outfit's boss changed United's formation on Saturday afternoon and reverted to a back three, moving away from the 4-2-3-1 system the 53-year-old was trying to implement for much of this season.

Although it was always going to be a slow process in adapting to the latter formation after spending so much time operating differently under former boss Wilder, this wasn't helped by the club's failure to recruit a single orthodox winger during the previous transfer window, only providing them with a limited amount of threat and expertise on the wing.

Some fans have even called for a rebuild under Jokanovic after such a poor start to their campaign and many players performing below par, but ex-Blade Paddy Kenny believes recruiting three players will avoid rocking the boat too much at Bramall Lane, as the 43-year-old spoke to Football Insider.

He said: "(Signing) Three players makes sense to me.

"It’s just finding those players and making sure they are the right ones.

"I think three is a good number, any more than that and you risk upsetting the side.

"I’m sure they are after two wingers and a defensive midfielder. Those are the positions that need to be strengthened.

"These need to be players who can go straight into the first team. There needs to be an instant improvement.

"I can’t believe how low they are in the table, wins are needed, quickly."

The Verdict:

Many people would agree with Kenny on this one.

They may be in 17th at the moment, but they have the calibre of players to be far higher up the table and more competition in the two positions identified by Jokanovic could go a long way in improving their fortunes.

Whether their plans will change on bringing in two wingers if they retain their system from Saturday remains to be seen, but if the Serbian only sees the back three as a short-term fix, then it's clear these advanced wide men will be required to give Ben Osborn a run for his money and allow Morgan Gibbs-White to be more influential in the centre.

And with Adlene Guedioura likely to be out for some time, Sander Berge continuing to remain on the sidelines and Conor Hourihane underwhelming many fans since his arrival at Bramall Lane, a holding midfielder would also be ideal.

In fact, it could be a game-changer for the Blades with John Fleck and Oliver Norwood also receiving criticism from some supporters on social media this season.

A rebuild in January wouldn't be ideal considering how much they will want to get back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, something that could still happen with the race for the top six very much on.

But a few players would be ideal to revive their season and this is why three is a magic number.