It has been revealed by the Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom that Reda Khadra is close to signing for the club on a season-long loan. Heckingbottom stated in an interview after the Barnsley game that he expects Khadra to be confirmed within the next coming week, before the first game of the season against Watford.
Heckingbottom told Yorkshire Live:
“What’s the point otherwise? It’s still on. It’s a loan and we want to take him in. If you were asking me for the first time today I would say Khadra’s not far away and I am confident. Nothing probably has moved forward.”
The loan signing of Reda Khadra would mark the 5th signing of the summer for the Blades, and the 3rd loan signing from the Premier League. United have added a lot of depth to the whole squad which has been lacking in recent years. They now have at least 2 players that can play in each position/role in the team.
With Khadra coming in, it would open up lots of flexibility for United. They could play 5-2-1-2. As I mentioned previously in a post (for my website), 5-2-1-2 allows us to have a solid foundation at the back as well as giving us the attacking midfield position where our number 10 can roam the middle and final third. Whilst it also allows us to overload wide positions.
In the same post, I also mentioned that as a plan B, “I think United will look at bringing in a couple of wingers or inside forwards, in the summer, so that they can shift into a 5-2-3 or a 5-2-2-1.” With the signings we have made this summer we are definitely equipped to play 5-2-2-1, 2 number 10’s behind the striker.