Yasser Larouci placed on notice for Sheffield United chance after Nottingham Forest cameo

Yasser Larouci has been placed on notice for his big Sheffield United chance after an impressive cameo at Nottingham Forest on Friday night. The former Liverpool defender replaced Max Lowe at the break and offered United an increased attacking threat down the left in their eventual 2-1 defeat.

The Frenchman arrived in the summer in a loan-to-buy deal with Troyes following their relegation to the French second tier and made his second Premier League appearance after Lowe failed to reappear for the second half against Forest. Lowe had been struggling with an ankle injury since pre-season but also struggled against Brennan Johnson at the City Ground, with boss Paul Heckingbottom presented with another intriguing selection decision ahead of this weekend’s visit of treble winners Manchester City.

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“Max is carrying his ankle but I felt Yasser deserved an opportunity,” Heckingbottom said. “He was bright and showed good energy when he came on. We’ve been working hard with him to get him to settle and show what his qualities are. He has got the athleticism and the speed and the dynamism to impact games, at whatever level, and I think we saw a glimpse of that at Forest.”

All United’s defenders will have to be at the top of their games to keep Pep Guardiola’s superstars at bay, even if the Spaniard will not be on the touchline at Bramall Lane as he recovers from emergency back surgery in Barcelona. United’s coaching staff will welcome the return of Rhys Norrington-Davies when he recovers from his hamstring injury, to provide even more competition in a key area of the pitch.

On the other side, George Baldock could return after missing out at the City Ground with what Heckingbottom described as “a slight issue” with his calf. The Greece international did a good job in shackling Jack Grealish when United last faced City, in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley back in April, while fellow right wing-back Jayden Bogle is closing in on a return to training after his knee issue.

“With Jayden not ready to play,” Heckingbottom saud, “we didn’t want to take a risk with George and potentially lose him until after the international break.”