Sheffield United made a bigger mistake than Bogle by selling £6m "mountain"

Sheffield United would have been watching on with awe on Monday night as automatic promotion rivals Leeds United dramatically beat Sunderland 2-1 to return to the top of the competitive Championship table.

Chris Wilder‘s Blades do have an opportunity to return to the summit when the Whites come to town next up in what could be the second tier’s most tantalising contest to date this campaign.

Jayden Bogle will also be relishing the prospect of getting one over on his former employers here, with the 24-year-old defecting over to West Yorkshire in the summer to pursue promotion glory with Daniel Farke’s men, instead of sticking it out at Bramall Lane after relegation.

Jayden Bogle’s numbers this season

There would have been some anger in the air when Bogle was allowed to move to Leeds, with the right-back still having a positive campaign for the most part last season even as the Blades finished bottom of the top-flight pile.

In total in South Yorkshire, Bogle would pick up 12 goals and four assists from his familiar right-hand side, with his presence in the Leeds team last time out helping Farke’s men beat Regis Le Bris’ tricky side.

Amassing 91 touches across the course of the high-energy 2-1 win, Bogle was committed throughout to the cause, with tackles and duels won aplenty as 11 tackles and duels were successfully won, alongside also completing two successful dribbles to push his team further up the field to mount a spectacular comeback.

Whilst he didn’t score or assist in this one, Bogle’s numbers in the Championship this season still stand at an impressive six goal contributions regardless, before analysing further his obvious strengths as a defender when collecting a hefty 16 clean sheets.

Wilder has bemoaned the lack of depth available to him in the right-back spot, hence the loan signing of Harry Clarke in the recently closed transfer window, but he will be equally displeased – if not more enraged – at the fact that one centre-back star was moved on when Bogle exited.

United’s centre-back situation

After all, if it hadn’t been for the deadline day loan signing of Rob Holding, the promotion chasers would have been entering into a crunch few months in the division with just two available centre-backs.

That’s where Auston Trusty could have eased some nerves, with the American defender sold to Celtic in the wake of United’s demoralising drop down to the second tier.

Trusty was thrown straight into the deep end donning a United strip, considering his only full campaign at Bramall Lane was when the Blades leaked an atrocious 104 goals, but he still managed to win himself a big £6m move to Scotland.

Indeed, the ex-Arsenal man would walk away from that pitiful relegation campaign with his head held high still, with his numbers in Glasgow to date proving that he would have done a competent job in the chaotic Championship, instead of Wilder and Co having to take a punt on the forgotten Holding.

Looking at the table above, Trusty has effortlessly slotted into the Celtic team as a stylish but staunch operator at the back, with his hefty seven duels won on average in league action this season even seeing him be heralded as a “man mountain” by football journalist Ryan McGinlay.

The compliments don’t end there, with ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton lauding Trusty as “phenomenal” when the 26-year-old helped the Bhoys overcome RB Leipzig 3-1 on a famous Champions League night in November, which is a far cry from his troubles at the bottom of the Premier League in South Yorkshire.

Whilst Wilder will be pleased with what he has at his disposal at the back after some last-ditch buys, both Bogle and Trusty would have undoubtedly been in and around the first-team picture if they remained in Sheffield to this day.

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