This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Wolverhampton Wanderers are the benchmark for any newly promoted teams, at least that’s what Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder believes ahead of the two meeting in the Premier League for the first time ever.
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What’s he said?
The west Midlanders only won the Championship title in 2018 but have since gone onto finish in a club-high seventh place, which resulted in European qualification for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Now they appear to be going one better this term as they have one foot in the Europa League knockout stages while also currently grasping a top-five berth in the league.
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Sheffield United finished runners-up to Norwich City last season and are hoping to emulate the success of the Molineux-based club.
Ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Wilder spoke to Sky Sports and said:
“It’s going to be as tough as they get against Wolves who are obviously a fantastic side. It’d be fantastic to follow in their footsteps of coming out the Championship and doing well in the Premier League.
“We’re in good nick but we know we’ve got all on to get a result against, as I said, an outstanding team and an outstanding manager.
“They’re a team that we know very, very well, obviously playing against them during our time in the Championship.
“They’ve evolved and moved forward, and it’s a great example for a club like Sheffield United if it’s done properly and where you can get to.”
Benchmark
The glowing praise handed to Wolves by the Blades manager only goes to show how far the club have come under the leadership of owners Fosun, and the stewardship of Nuno Santo and his management staff.
In the space of just a couple of years, Wolves have gone from midtable straddlers with players like Danny Batth and James Henry in their ranks to a side that are on the cusp of repeating European exploits for a second successive season with players such as Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves, who have international titles to their name.
Therefore, Wilder’s comments are quite right, any team promoted from the second-flight is going to look up to the west Midlands club and want to follow suit.
Wolves defeated United last time the two teams met in the Championship nearly two years ago before Nuno’s side sailed to the title.
Meanwhile, one Wolves man is failing to impress whilst out on loan this season, might his future at Molineux be wearing thin?
