16 goals, 11 assists – Sheffield United could bag themselves a coup by landing this star for £5m

Why Martyn Waghorn could be an excellent signing for Sheffield United

As per reports, Championship club Sheffield United have tabled a record £5m bid for Ipswich Town striker Martyn Waghorn.

Waghorn, 28, scored 16 goals and provided 11 assists in a highly impressive debut campaign for Ipswich. He moved to Ipswich from Rangers last summer and has been a revelation since, thereby reportedly attracting interest from Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest as well.

Chris Wilder faces a tough job of rebuilding Sheffield United following the departures of some crucial players, including David Brooks. The likes of Clayton Donaldson and James Hanson have left the Blades this summer but the exit of talented Brooks would be a difficult one to deal with. However, Sheffield have got £11.5m following Brooks’ sale to Bournemouth and Wilder must use those funds wisely to build a squad capable of challenging for the Championship play-off.

One area Wilder must definitely strengthen is his forward department ahead of the new campaign. It is important for the 50-year-old manager to add firepower to his squad that lacked creativity and cutting edge at times this past season. And Sheffield could pull off a massive coup if they manage to land Waghorn, whose value has skyrocketed this summer.

The 28-year-old centre-forward enjoyed his most prolific season ever in English football in 2017/18, scoring 16 times in the Championship for the Tractor Boys. He even set up 11 in a remarkable individual campaign.

Before moving to Rangers and excelling, Waghorn had previously struggled for goals in the Football League during various spells with clubs such as Sunderland, Hull City, Leicester City, Wigan and Millwall.

Waghorn may not be a complete striker but he is an out-and-out poacher in every sense, feeding on the scraps. He is quick, inventive and most importantly, hard-working, which could be a tempting aspect for any Championship manager to consider.

The former Rangers man can score all kind of goals and would be an ideal player for Sheffield. The Blades already have decent goal-scorers in Ched Evans and Billy Sharp and the addition of Waghorn would make their attack a formidable one.

Waghorn also has bags of experience in the Championship and Sheffield need players with proven pedigree in the second-tier to find the goals for a promotion hunt this term. In the current Ipswich man, Sheffield will have exactly that.

Read more: What can Reading fans expect from their talented 25-year-old new signing? The answer to their goalscoring woes?

Even if Ipswich rebuff Sheffield’s £5m offer, Wilder must splash more cash to ensure Waghorn lands at Bramall Lane ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. The 28-year-old forward is the right man to give the Blades the push they need in their promotion charge.