Lys Mousset is one of those players who seems to divide the masses at Sheffield United and a lot of this summer has been dominated by talk of the Frenchman’s future.
The 24-year-old enjoyed an explosive start to his Blades career. He quickly found himself a fans favourite after some impressing finishing and a number of fine displays had those inside Bramall Lane excited.
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However, the season didn’t continue in the same trajectory for ‘Moose’. A couple of niggling injuries and then some personal issues, coupled with the lockdown, ensured his season finished with a bit of a whimper. He did, however, score in the 3-1 home win against Spurs.
Mousset has returned to The Lane a week or so ago and got a run-out against Preston before coming off with an injury. Of course, that cameo and subsequent withdrawal sparked some of the usual comments on social media. ‘Made of glass’, ‘needs to toughen up’, and ‘never going to be a Wilder player’, all phrases you can find easily with a quick search.
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But rather than criticise his every move, as Blades fans, we need to get behind Mousset if we are to see the best of him.
Stop the token phrases and back the lad who can be our best striker
There definitely seems to have been some sort of agenda come to the fore against Mousset in recent months.
As mentioned, those token phrases have popped up among some sections of our fanbase. Of course, they are easy, throw-away comments to make and are often made with little thought. ‘Not a Wilder player’, can be particularly annoying, as the squad possesses a number of characters and qualities. Wilder signed him, so, in my mind anyway, he very much is a Wilder player.
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Put simply, we have to get behind ‘Moose’. And while we can’t be there in person as things stand, this notion that he isn’t interested, needs to do more, or simply isn’t bothered, isn’t going to help anyone.
Yes, we’d love to see more from him at times. Even Wilder recognises the potential is there. But that should only come from the fact that we have seen just how good he can be. Just ask Manchester United.
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Mousset scored six times for us last season and contributed a further four assists. If we’d said he’d have or play a direct part in 10 goals when we signed him, we’d have all taken it.
Hopefully, with a bit of TLC, things settling down at home for him, and backing from us Blades, Mousset can go one better this season and become the main man up top for Sheffield United.
