Sheffield United confirmed on Thursday morning the signing of left-back Sam McCallum on a four-year deal.
The 23-year-old defender was a free agent having seen his contract at Norwich City expire and has joined the Blades as they look to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
An experienced defender at a young age
Despite being at the early stages of his career given his age, McCallum has vast levels of experience during his career so far.
McCallum started his career in non-league with Herne Bay before moving on to Jamie Vardy’s V9 academy.
His time in the V9 academy coinciding with his spell at Non-League side Herne Bay brought about his move to then League One side Coventry City ahead of the 2018-19 season at the age of 17.
He went on to make eight appearances in all competitions for the Sky Blues during his first season at the club.
The defender then played a key part in Coventry’s promotion to the Championship making 35 appearances in the COVID-affected season, scoring three goals.
His impact caught the eye of Norwich who signed him in January 2020 despite spending the next season and a half back with the West Midlands side on loan.
However, McCallum never hit the ground running with the Canaries and another loan spell followed at Queens Park Rangers during the 2021-22 season.
After Norwich’s relegation from the Premier League, the defender’s game time in East Anglia improved and last season McCallum played 34 games, helping the club reach the end of season play-offs.
Upon the expiry of his contract at Carrow Road, the left-back joined the recently relegated Sheffield United on Thursday morning.
What does McCallum bring to Sheffield United?
Upon signing for the Blades, manager Chris Wilder was positive about the impact that McCallum could have on his side:
“He will bring energy to an area of the field where it is essential to be fit and athletic.
“Sam loves to go forward and his Championship experience will be vital as we look to win games and be very competitive in a notoriously tough division.”
Having played a 3-5-2 system for much of last season, McCallum is likely to fit in the system as a left-wing back.
Despite not playing within a system with wing-backs at Norwich, the 23-year-old has the capability to adapt to a more attacking role within Wilder’s side.
McCallum created an average of 1.16 chances per 90 minutes for Norwich. Coupled with this was an average of 0.55 shots per 90 minutes despite the side being criticised by many for large parts of the season as being too conservative when going forward, especially away from home.
Alongside, the 23-year-old’s potential to improve his attacking output in a more advanced position is the impact that he can have on improving Sheffield United’s defence.
The former Coventry man won 63.6% of his duels with an average of 7.58 per 90 minutes played. This was coupled with a success rate of 67.4% of aerial duels won and 2.75 interceptions per 90 minutes on average.
With his success rate at winning duels and interceptions most likely playing out higher up the pitch next season in a wing-back role for the Blades, it is likely to lead to an increase in his attacking output.