Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist joined Sheffield United last summer, and his loan spell there was proving to be very productive.
In total, Alfie Gilchrist has gone on to make 28 appearances in the Championship, with 26 of those being starts.
However, he has not been in Sheffield United’s matchday squad for the last three games, and that number is set to increase.
Gilchrist is one player Chelsea could have recalled last month during their injury crisis in central defence, with the 21-year-old also able to play there. But in the end, the club decided to bring back Trevoh Chalobah, who could be let go again in the summer.
Sheffield United now have too many loanees
Because of their own injury crisis in central defence, United decided to bring in two defenders on loan, Rob Holding and Harry Clarke, during the January transfer window.
They also brought in Ben Brereton Diaz and Hamza Choudhury to join Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who was already at Bramall Lane on a temporary deal.
Including Gilchrist, then, that means Chris Wilder has six players on loan when EFL rules state that only five loanees can be included in a matchday squad.
As a result, Gilchrist could now be sidelined for the rest of the season, with Clarke able to play in central defence and at right-back.
Gilchrist will be expected to go out on loan again in the summer. Enzo Maresca already has Reece James and Malo Gusto for the right-back position, while Chelsea could also sign another centre-half like Dean Huijsen.
Alfie Gilchrist’s stats this season
Again, Gilchrist’s campaign was going quite well and his stats back that up.
For example, Gilchrist is currently making 1.7 tackles per game in the Championship, which is the joint-fifth highest average in United’s squad, according to WhoScored. The Chelsea loanee is also in the top five for interceptions with an average of 0.9.
Gilchrist has registered a couple of assists as well, though he is yet to score in English football’s second division.
