{"id":286369,"date":"2025-07-23T22:55:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/286369\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T22:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T22:55:11","slug":"ruben-selles-has-already-identified-vini-souza-2-0-for-sheffield-united-he-can-suit-our-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/286369\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Selles has already identified Vini Souza 2.0 for Sheffield United, he can \u2018suit our style\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The pieces of Sheffield United\u2019s transfer puzzle are beginning to fall into place, including a possible replacement for midfielder Vini Souza. <\/strong><\/p>\n

After his outstanding campaign in the Championship<\/a> last term, Souza joined Wolfsburg for around \u00a313 million<\/a> at the start of July, bringing the curtain down on his two-year stay at Bramall Lane. <\/p>\n

Souza was wanted by Premier League clubs<\/a> before moving to the Bundesliga, which was a testament to his exceptional performances in the 2024\/25 season. <\/p>\n

The Brazilian was a ball-winning machine in midfield and someone capable of carrying possession forward effortlessly. <\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s down to Ruben Selles<\/a> to replace him ahead of the new campaign, and the Spaniard feels as though he\u2019s found his man. <\/p>\n

\"DjibrilPhoto by Jose Manuel Alvarez\/Quality Sport Images\/Getty ImagesRuben Selles wants Djibril Soumare to replace Vini Souza<\/p>\n

According to Portuguese outlet Record<\/a>, Sheffield United<\/a> are set to sign midfielder Djibril Soumare on an initial loan from Liga Portugal side Braga with an option to buy for \u20ac10 million (\u00a38.6 million) if they win promotion back to the Premier League. <\/p>\n

A defensive midfield powerhouse, Soumare made 25 appearances for Braga last term, rising to prominence as a shield in front of their defence. <\/p>\n

And in an interview with The Star<\/a>, Selles spoke about the importance of signing a number six, seeing Soumare as an ideal replacement for Souza. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we are looking for a player in that position as a six,\u201d Selles admitted, \u201cAnd Djibril\u2019s name has been there. We have analysed him and I think he\u2019s a player who can suit our style, yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when Vini left us, we needed that kind of number six that can be a little bit more physical, athletic, in that profile. And I think looking at the market there were some good options and hopefully we can close one of them really quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blades will start the season without the injured trio of Tom Davies, Jamie Shackleton and Oliver Arblaster, emphasising the importance to sign a combative midfielder such as Soumare. <\/p>\n

Why Soumare is the ideal fit for Sheffield United<\/p>\n

Standing at 6ft 2ins, Soumare would add some much-needed height and presence to their midfield, helping them win the crucial engine room battles. <\/p>\n\nDjibril Soumare\u2019s 2024\/25 stats<\/strong><\/td>\nRank vs midfielders in Liga Portugal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2.06 tackles won per 90<\/td>\nTop 7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n3.01 tackles per 90<\/td>\nTop 9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1.29 successful take-ons per 90<\/td>\nTop 11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1.77 aerials won per 90<\/td>\nTop 15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1.29 blocks per 90<\/td>\nTop 27%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

As demonstrated by the above table, the 22-year-old is dominant with his tackling ability and he\u2019s also great at carrying the ball, averaging 1.29 successful take-ons per 90. <\/p>\n

In a league known for its physicality, it is easy to see why Selles thinks Soumare would suit their style as an aggressive, ball-winner, and hopefully, United can seal a transfer for him.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pieces of Sheffield United\u2019s transfer puzzle are beginning to fall into place, including a possible replacement for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,4884,87244,1620,4239,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-286369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-ruben-selles","12":"tag-sheffield","13":"tag-sheffield-united","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114905017478547864","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}