Sheffield United have signed experienced goalkeeper Steve Simonsen on a one month loan deal after losing stopper Mark Bunn.
Simonsen, currently with Stoke City, will become the fourth goalkeeper to play in goal for Sheffield United this season, but may not be the last.
Bunn, Ian Bennett and Carl Ikeme have all had spells between the sticks for United, and the returning Paddy Kenny could add another name to the ever growing list.
Despite having Bennett and Mihkel Aksalu at his disposal, Blackwell, himself a goalkeeper in a past life felt reinforcements were needed.
‘Ian Bennett is our recognised number two and I decided that with the position we are in we needed a new number one.
‘It wouldn’t be right to throw Mihkel in at this stage of his career – he is still learning English, never mind not having played any senior games yet.
‘If he was to make a mistake on debut the fans would remember that and we don’t want to damage his confidence straight away – he is basically one for the future.
Maltese international Justin Haber is on loan with sister club Ferencvaros, but Blackwell is happy with the swoop for Simonsen.
‘Steve Simonsen is a very good goalkeeper with a real presence and he was a big feature of Stoke’s promotion to the Premiership. We are taking him for a month and will see what the situation is then.
‘I have to thank Tony Pulis and Stoke for letting Steve out. They understand how difficult it is to get good players in on loan at this time because most clubs are involved in either promotion or relegation.’
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