Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder described Sydie Peck’s all-round performances as excellent in their 3-2 win at Preston North End, citing that the recently turned 22-year-old plays his football with emotion and intelligence.
This was demonstrated by the midfielder’s three goals at Deepdale – making something happen for the opener, keeping his cool and finishing with real quality for the second, being in the right place, at the right time for his third.
Both manager and player want Peck to get more goals, and a 19-minute hat-trick will certainly help. It’s early November and he now has four on the board this campaign, as well as three assists, which is well on course to beat last season’s totals of five and five respectively.
Right now, the sky’s the limit for Peck, and you feel Wilder knows this. As with other academy stars like Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks before his move to Norwich City, the gaffer can be tough on them, expecting and demanding more from them, publicly, unlike others in the squad.
Peck’s stock is high, and rising. He has become a regular in the England under-21 side, he’s one of the first names on the Blades teamsheet, and his underlying shooting, passing, possession and defending statistics show he ranks as one of the Championship’s best players in his position.
He was coveted by Premier League clubs last summer, and you’d imagine he will be the subject of interest once again in January, especially after United sold a trio of stars pre-season to help balance the books.
In the Deepdale debrief, Wilder also talked about Peck as a future Sheffield United captain, with the midfielder having been handed the armband too soon under Ruben Selles, in Wilder’s opinion.
You can certainly see Peck’s leadership qualities, alongside his technical capabilities and positive, box-to-box approach.
He fits into the category as one of those players you love to have on your team and hate to play against. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s not afraid of giving it back to opposition players and supporters (just ask Sheffield Wednesday fans), and he appears to be instrumental in on-pitch huddles, dragging his team-mates towards United’s supporters to get everyone going.
Peck is still improving, still finding greater consistency in his performances, and still adding more numbers.
Who knows what his ceiling will prove to be in football but Peck appears to have the right minerals, the right attitude and qualities to reach new heights in the game.
