Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has explained why Lys Mousset was not in the matchday squad for their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth last weekend.

The Blades boss says the Frenchman is not match fit and will need to be eased into things over the coming weeks to ensure that he can make the right impact when he plays for the first team:

“With Lys, he had a little period where he fell behind a bit, with the move up here. Probably 10 days or so. First impressions are really big for me and he’ll have a big future with us, he’ll be a big player for us. We’ll get him up to speed.”

Mousset will also not feature against Crystal Palace on Sunday as the 23-year-old is allowed more time to regain fitness. He was signed for £10m from Bournemouth last month but didn’t play a great deal in pre-season.

It must be said too that United do have a number of striking options at their disposal now. David McGoldrick and Calum Robinson started upfront versus the Cherries.

Wilder also had record £20m signing Oli McBurnie on the bench, while captain Billy Sharp came on as a substitute to score the equaliser at the Vitality Stadium.