Sheffield United have agreed a deal to sign a former Liverpool man

Sheffield United have completed a deal to sign left-back Liam Millar from Basel, according to Adam Oxley of BBC Radio Sheffield. The 24-year-old Canadian international will join the Blades as soon as Canada’s Copa America campaign is over.

The striker has been on United’s radar for some time. Burnley are also said to be interested in him.

Millar, a product of Liverpool’s academy, is currently under contract with Swiss club Basel, but spent last season plying his trade in the Championship with Preston North End. The 24-capped international played 35 times in the league for Preston last season, where he registered five goals and five assists.

Although Sheffield United predominantly played a 5-3-2 formation under Chris Wilder, the United boss changed things up at the start of his second spell, deploying a 4-3-3 system. In this setup, Cameron Archer emerged as an overturned wide man to the left of a front three. This system and role would suit Millar perfectly should United sign him, as his skills and style of play align well with the demands of the position. In addition, he has the ability to play as an attacking midfielder.

The Blades have been linked with another inverted left-back this summer in the form of Rangers striker Tom Lawrence. Lawrence made 32 appearances for Rangers last season in all competitions. The versatile winger scored three times and assisted three during the 2023/24 campaign.

Preston North End director Peter Ridsdale recently gave an interview to the Lancashire Evening Post where he spoke about Liam Millar. “Liam has been very honest with us, saying he loves the club and will be back tomorrow but he wants to play left-back. And we said we love him and we want him back tomorrow, but we want him to play at left-back… What we’re not going to do is change the formation just to suit a particular player, so it’s a dilemma and it’s a challenge. . It’s one we’ll work on, but it’s probably the hardest to handle.”

Due to Millar playing as a left-back for Preston last season, his FBref stats rank him in the percentile compared to full-backs and full-backs in the Championship, rather than his natural left-back position.

The Canadian international is a very big attacking threat; he ranks in the 95th percentile for non-penalty xG and the 99th percentile for total shots per 90. He also showed his creativity levels throughout the campaign, ranking in the 87th percentile for assists, 71st for key passes and 88th for shot creation actions.

Millar has a lot of energy and pace to his game and it shows in his dribbling values. He ranks in the 99th percentile for progressive carries, 99th for penalty area carries and has excellent one-on-one skills. He ranks in the 99th percentile for successful takeovers.

These numbers are very positive as they show clear signs of what it is and his numbers match the eye test. He will lead the team forward and commit defenders and will often make the right decision in terms of setting up teammates or taking the shot for himself. Millar was restricted last term due to playing at full-back, if United are to maximize his potential they will be wise to play him as a number ten or out wide on the left.