John Fleck’s career seems to have been spent trying to fulfil potential. Finally, the Sheffield
United man seems to be doing just that.
Five Premier League goals and two assists from midfield by the end of January was a
decent return by anyone’s standards, but for a player who not so long ago seemed destined
to play out his prime years in League One, Fleck’s seamless adjustment to the top level
has been nothing short of remarkable.
The subject of an unsuccessful £4 million bid from West Ham United a year ago just as
the January window was about to close, the 28-year-old’s form has been such that his
value in the transfer market has increased exponentially.
Not bad for a player who arrived on a free transfer in Chris Wilder’s maiden summer
at the helm in 2016.
Three-and-a-half years later, both are excelling in the Premier League and Fleck has become
an even more important cog in the United machine since Wilder moved away from playing a No
10 behind two strikers in favour of a flat three-man midfield.
The new role grants Fleck licence to get forward much more — a point underlined by a goals
tally that is already a personal best for a season. No wonder Wilder is so keen to tie
the Scotland international down to a longer contract, with his current deal set to expire
next summer.
“He has been incredible,” the United manager says about a player once dubbed ‘the new
Wayne Rooney’ after making his competitive debut for Rangers at the tender age of 16.
“By embracing every level he has played at, he has moved forward each time. He also
has a wand of a left peg and when he hits the ball, it stays hit. Proper power.”
That kind of praise feels long overdue, especially for those who remember the hype surrounding
him in those early days at Rangers.
A year or so after making his first team debut for the Glasgow giants at 15 on a pre-season
tour of Germany came the notable accolade of being the youngest player to feature in
a senior final in Britain. That winner’s medal, after coming on for the final five
minutes of the 2008 Scottish Cup final victory over Queen of the South, was expected to be
the first of many.
The reality, however, was very different. He did enjoy a couple of decent runs in the
Rangers first team in 2009 and then again 18 or so months later. But, by the summer
of 2011, it had become clear that a spell away from Ibrox would be in his best interests.
Sheffield United offered a route out of Glasgow but a mix-up with the paperwork as the minutes
clicked down towards the end of the transfer window eventually scuppered the move. Fleck
left Rangers for good the following summer in the wake of their financial collapse.
Four years at Coventry City, by then mired in crisis, followed, before Wilder brought
Fleck to Yorkshire soon after succeeding Nigel Adkins at Bramall Lane.
The early signs weren’t overly encouraging. Fleck struggled with the running during his
first pre-season training camp with Wilder vividly recalling the Scot “gasping for
breath” in one demanding session.
Now, though, the United manager says Fleck “just goes and goes and goes”. Those energy
levels have helped him get forward regularly enough to create 30 chances for others — second
highest in the squad behind Norwood — and have 17 attempts on goal of his own. Fleck’s
shooting accuracy of 64.7 per cent is the highest among Wilder’s players.
All this points to a career finally starting to resemble the one expected all those years
ago when Fleck was coming through at Rangers.
Recognition from Scotland, long overdue in the eyes of Sheffield United supporters, arrived
last autumn with a first senior call-up. His debut came in a Euro 2020 qualifying defeat
to Russia in Moscow.
One man who has been following Fleck’s progress with interest ever since those early comparisons
with Rooney is former Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall. As Gordon Strachan’s
right-hand man with the national team, he kept a keen eye on all those hoping to make
the breakthrough at international level.
“I remember watching John play for Scotland Under-16s at Scunthorpe,” McCall, a five-time
title winner at Ibrox as a player and later appointed their manager, told The Athletic.
“England won quite comfortably because they were more powerful and that bit stronger.
We did not have the physicality and were blown away, in truth.
“But, to me”, continues McCall, “he was the best player on the pitch. He was only
young but there was a real player in there, no doubt about that.
“I have followed his career ever since. What I most like about him (now) is (that)
he dictates and dominates games. Not everyone is capable of doing that in the Premier League.”
One of those United player who did not last the journey between the divisions is James
Wilson, now at Ipswich Town. He was one of Wilder’s first signings in the same summer
Fleck arrived from Coventry.
“Flecky always looked a good player,” the Welsh defender told The Athletic. “He
was a big part of the team that won promotion.
“Watching Flecky score goals and get all this praise is no surprise to me. It might
be to those who have not been familiar with what has been happening at Sheffield United
but not me. Flecky is a special player and it is great to see things going so well for
him.”
Chris Hussey, another who moved to Bramall Lane the same summer as Fleck but moved on
after a year, agrees. “He was no different back then to what he is now,” says the 31-year-old,
now with Cheltenham Town. “Quiet and just wanting to get on with his job with the minimum
of fuss.”
Fleck, for his part, admits feeling his time at Sheffield United has flown by.
“Those days in League One seem far away now,” he says. “But it is only two to
three years ago. We have come such a long way in a short period of time.
Now part of the international fold under Steve Clarke, Fleck has a chance to make history
in that arena, too. Not since the 1998 World Cup have Scotland qualified for a major tournament,
but March will bring a chance to book a place at Euro 2020 via the play-offs; a home semi-final
against Israel, with the winners to visit Norway or Serbia five days later for a spot
in the finals.