Sheffield United’s Tahith Chong will be dreaming of making his mark at this summer’s World Cup.
It is fair to say Tahith Chong’s first season at Sheffield United did not go according to plan.
Recruited from Luton Town last August for an undisclosed fee, Chong, who signed a four-year contract, failed to score a single goal and provided just one assist in 22 appearances in his maiden season at Bramall Lane.
Signed just over a fortnight before Rubén Sellés was sacked, the former Manchester United man made just two appearances under the Spaniard before Chris Wilder returned to S2 to try and put out the fire and attempt to move United away from danger.
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After overcoming an injury that left him sidelined for the best part of two months, Chong struggled to force his way into the team, and it quickly became clear that he was considered as a squad player by Wilder. Making 20 appearances under the boyhood Blade, more than half of them were via the bench.
An unconvincing debut season in S2 means the 26-year-old is not safe from being shown the door this summer. Wilder wants to make a number of changes to landscape of his squad and he is not going to be afraid to make some ruthless calls. Mark McGuinness and Alex Matos, who, like Chong, also joined United as recently as last summer, are not safe from the axe, either.
Having failed to impress in his first season at Bramall Lane, Chong, who has three years left on his deal, is not expected to be the subject of big money offers. There will be suitors, of course, but his performances over the last 12 months are not exactly going to spark a bidding war.
Not at this stage, anyway.
Chong will embark on his first World Cup campaign with Curaçao in just under a fortnight’s time, facing Germany in Houston, Texas, in their tournament opener and he will be determined to make his mark. Curaçao are the smallest nation to have ever qualified for the World Cup, taking advantage of the first time it has featured 48 countries, and they will compete in Group E alongside Germany, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast.
It goes without saying the Caribbean nation are expected to be among the first nations to exit the competition. However, they have three games to defy the odds as a collective and for their players to try and make their mark on the biggest stage of all.
Tahith Chong scored an excellent goal in Saturday’s warm-up match against Scotland.placeholder image
Tahith Chong scored an excellent goal in Saturday’s warm-up match against Scotland. | Getty Images
Chong was on the scoresheet for Curaçao on Saturday as they stepped up their World Cup preparations against Scotland at Hampden Park. Although they were beaten 4-1, Chong scored a wonderful individual goal, reminding potential suitors ahead of this summer’s transfer window what he is capable of producing.
With United expected to be happy to let him go this summer, they will be hoping he will be able to come up with another moment or two like that on the other side of the Atlantic over the coming weeks.
There is no doubt Curaçao will head into each of their three group games as massive underdogs, but that is not to say they will not be able to come up with a moment or two.
With FIFA set to pay clubs close to $11,000 (£8,177.51 at the current exchange rate) per day for every player released for the World Cup, United will secure a useful cash injection just from Chong being at the tournament.
But with him facing an uncertain future at Bramall Lane ahead of next season, they will be hoping he can produce the best version of himself for however long Curaçao are at the tournament to drive up his price tag and increase the number of clubs who might express an interest in extracting him from S2 ahead of the transfer window closing at the start of September.
After all, there is always that one club that takes a shine to a player after an international tournament if they produce a moment or two.
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