Sheffield United are preparing to review all of their loanees during the latter stages of December before making a decision on whether to recall any of them during the January transfer window, according to a report from The Star.

Will Osula is currently one of those loan players with the forward currently plying his trade with Derby County, who will be hopeful of sealing a return to the Championship at the first time of asking.

The 19-year-old has proven his worth during his time at Pride Park with five goals and one assist in 15 competitive games this term - but has found himself on the bench during the Rams' last four league games.

 

 

This is the last thing United boss Paul Heckingbottom will want for his development, with the teenager managing to shine at a senior level for the East Midlands outfit when given the opportunity.

However, the 45-year-old would "ideally" prefer to see the forward remain at Pride Park for the remainder of the season, though the Blades' current situation in the forward department could force Heckingbottom to recall him.

Rhian Brewster is currently out of action, Iliman Ndiaye's future is uncertain, Billy Sharp can't be relied on to start all the time and Reda Khadra may not be at United for much longer either, so Osula may be at risk of being called back to Bramall Lane.

The Verdict:

If Osula comes back, Daniel Jebbison may need to be sent out on loan because there's a real risk that at least one of the duo won't win much game time if one isn't sent back out on a temporary spell.

It would be a disaster if at least one of them isn't playing every week between January and the summer because both have too much potential to be sat on the bench.

In an ideal world, both would be away on loan spells at this stage but it remains to be seen whether the Blades will fork out the amount needed to bring in two new forwards during the winter window.

It's a difficult one to weigh up because they won't want any new addition to block the pathway of Jebbison or Osula - and United may want to focus on strengthening other areas as well.

Derby boss Warne does need to give Osula more game time if the latter is to make the most of his spell away from South Yorkshire though - because short cameos aren't enough at this point if he wants to develop properly.