Sheffield United pair Richairo Zivkovic and Panos Retsos could both make their debuts at Reading in the FA Cup next week.
The January signings have both yet to play for the Blades. Zivkovic has yet to make the bench, while Retsos has been included in the last few fixtures.
Richairo Zivkovic and Panos Retsos could both be involved for Sheffield United at Reading. (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Both players arrived at the club with huge pedigrees. Retsos coming from Leverkusen and Zivkovic from China, after previously coming through the development ranks of Dutch giants, Ajax.
And Blades boss, Chris Wilder, has admitted that both players are pushing hard and continue to impress him.
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“We had a behind-closed-doors game against Lincoln last week and both played. They’ve both had an interesting introduction to life in Sheffield!,” Wilder said. (Sheffield Star)
“They’re both pushing. All the new boys have integrated well and they’re pushing. Panos is pushing, Richairo is pushing. They all are (Jack Robinson, Jack Rodwell). They all help to make this a really competitive group.”
Chris Wilder has been impressed by his fringe players this season. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The Blades drew 1-1 at the weekend with Brighton and now have a week to prepare for the trip to Berkshire. A win would see United in the quarter-finals of the cup. It would be the first time the club have progressed so far during Wilder’s tenure.
The ideal time
While United and Wilder will, obviously, want to get past Reading as easily as possible, there won’t be a better game for the pair to make their bows.
Away from the pressure of Bramall Lane and against lesser opposition, it’s the ideal chance. Retsos looks like he is ready to go given his bench appearances. Zivkovic, meanwhile, is only going to get up to speed by getting involved.
It would be nice to see the January signings in action. After so much fuss, Blades fans have only gotten to see Sander Berge. Seeing Berge, Retsos, Zivkovic, and of course, the other new boys would give fans added interest on FA Cup weekend.
