Powerful, eye for goal, that Grealish tackle - a look at Lundstram
More cheers were heard in Glasgow than tears shed in Yorkshire after John Lundstram’s transfer from Sheffield United to Rangers was confirmed on Monday.
Rangers fans – and ex-players–havebeenpleasedwiththe latest recruit to Ibrox but Sheffield United fans were quick to point to the indifferent end to the midfielder’s Bramall Lane spell, after he had taken time to winthemoverbreakingintothe Blades team and helping equal a club record.
How it started
A £700,000 signing from Oxford, the midfielder’s bursts intotheboxwereabigfeatureof Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United side which surged into the top ten of the Premier League and ended up earning the club a nine-figure sum from a record league finish in 2020-21.
Promotion to the Premier League proved to be the making of the midfielder, however Lundstram had to win over the Blades support when he first stepped into the newly-promoted Championship team after midfielder Paul Coutts’ 2017leg-break.couttshadbeen integral to the team’s style, taking the ball from defence and dictatingplay,butitwasn’tuntil Lundstramwasabletobecome “his own man” in the Premier League that he won over the Sheffield fans.
"He suffered at the start because everyone was looking for him to be someone else.
Coutts had been such a big part ofhowunitedplayed,everyone expected him to play the same way – but that's not his game,” explained Danny Hall, Sheffield United writer at our sister title, The Star. “Once he got the chancetobehisownmanhedid reallywell–hehasalltheattributesneededtoplayagoodlevel.”
Skillset
When Wilder changed to a midfieldthree,lundstrambenefited, exhibiting his powerful, all-round energy around the pitch. Hall added: “He is possibly the most two-footed player I’ve seen. He could ping crossfield passes with his left foot as well as anyone else would do with their right. He was at his best with a licence to get forward and had a knack with those late runs. Before his Premier League season, his highlight in a Sheffield United shirt was probably a tackle on Jack Grealish. United beat Villa 4-1 and it got a bigger cheer than any of the goals – Lundstram piled into him. Then he had his Premier League season and really took to it.”
How it ended
A move to Rangers had long been suggested. Lundstram’s deal ran out last summer but United used a clause to extend until this year. Wilder stood by his midfielder despite the ongoing contractual uncertainty, but lined up a replacement in £20m Sander Berge. By the time relegation was confirmed and Wilder had left, ninth-placed Premier League poster-boy Lundstram had become a target for unhappy fans.
"It's been a strange up-and
down career for him because it took so long to actually get into the team, by the time he did his contractwasbeginningtowind down,” added Hall. However
there is still a case that his background could further aid him at Ibrox – complementing onfield talents which Steven Gerrard says will bring “steel and
presence”. Hall added: “He’s been round a decent-sized club before, coming through the ranks at Everton, so a big-club environmentisnotnewtohim.”