Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has been reflecting on how his return to Sheffield United has gone so far this season.
Ramsdale returned to his boyhood club from Bournemouth this summer in an £18.5m deal (BBC Sport).
The 22-year-old has played in all three Premier League matches so far, which have all ended in defeat.
It was a tricky start for Ramsdale, with Wolverhampton Wanderers scoring both goals in a 2-0 win on the opening day within the first six minutes.
The Blades then played the majority of the next game with Aston Villa with 10 men after having John Egan sent off after 12 minutes.
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Ramsdale did look a little more assured against Leeds United last weekend. The England Under-21 international made some good saves, but could do nothing about Patrick Bamford’s 88th-minute headed winner.
“I’ve grown into the games,” Ramsdale told BBC Radio Sheffield. “It was a bit of a sucker punch the first game, but we learn and we move on quickly as a goalkeeping department.
“I feel like I’m getting there, I feel like I’m learning the system. I think you could see that in the Leeds performance.
“But the main thing is we, and I, need to start keeping clean sheets and producing big moments to help the team.”
Ramsdale has big boots to fill at Sheffield United
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
It was always going to be a tough task for Ramsdale coming back to Bramall Lane three-and-a-half years after leaving for the Cherries.
That’s because the stopper is replacing Dean Henderson between the posts after two hugely successful years on loan from Manchester United.
Henderson was arguably the Blades’ best player during that time, as they earned promotion from the Championship and then finished ninth in their first Premier League campaign in 12 years.
They had the best defensive record in the second tier in 2018/19. Then last term, only the top three in the division conceded fewer than them.
Henderson is destined for great things and keeping hold of him was always going to be extremely hard. Yet in Ramsdale, while they might not have someone quite as good, they have another young and ambitious ‘keeper with plenty of potential.
His form so far in 2020/21 has been solid, but promising.
