“Wait and see” – Sheff Utd ponder January recall for impressive Port Vale loanee
The Yorkshire media says that Sheffield United are delighted with Ollie Arblaster’s form at Port Vale this season and may exercise an option to recall the youngster in the January transfer window.
The England U20 International joined the Valiants on loan in July and in marked contrast to previous loan signings, the teenager soon became one of the first names on the Vale teamsheet with a string of impressive performances. The 19 year-old has currently made twenty appearances and scored one goal.
Port Vale manager Andy Crosby recognises that the impressive form shown by Arblaster and fellow loanee Alfie Devine leaves them open to a possible recall saying: “If you’re taking an U20 or U21 international on loan, they’re giving them to you to develop and grow, and they want a better player back. We want them to do well while they’re here, of course, you have to take the benefits and weaknesses within that. If players play well, other clubs will be looking at them.”
Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom told the Sheffield Star that the move to Burslem nearly didn’t happen as he was tempted to keep Arblaster in the United squad this season. He commented: “It was the right thing to do, to send him out, for his development, but he would have got minutes here. Maybe not as many. It would have also helped us because he wouldn’t have counted as one of the 25-man squad, because he’s under-age, but I feel it would have been a really selfish decision, to keep him in.”
Heckingbottom would not be drawn on what the club would do in January adding: “People know what we think of him, we think he has a real chance and potentially a real big future here. So it was important, in our eyes, that we got him out, playing games as often as possible. He’s done that and he’s performing well. It was 100 per cent the right thing. What we do in January or at the end of the season, we’ll have to wait and see.”
The Blades appear to have three options – allow him to stay at Vale Park where he is almost guaranteed plenty of match action, recall him and send him on loan to a higher division club or recall him to their first-team squad. Vale fans will be hoping the Sheffield side select the first option as Arblaster has been one of the club’s stars of the season so far.