Simon Walton has all the attributes to become a valuable Sheffield United player, according to the man who handed him a debut against Valencia, aged sixteen years old.

Kevin Blackwell was manager at Leeds when Walton was given that chance and responded by scoring a penalty and later being sent-off, and the United boss suggests that it was a cameo of the new loanee's next few years.

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"That sums it up in a nutshell! He had the world at his feet but he has now been around the block, got carried away with things he shouldn't have done and his career has fallen away.

"But he is still young, everyone is human and makes mistakes and it is how you react to them that counts. I have told him that he has this last chance at a big club to get his career back on track.

"It will be a crying shame if he doesn't do that over the next couple of years, but if he does then we will be the beneficiaries.

"It is not so much of a gamble by me, Simon is the one who has to make it work and through talking to him he seems to have changed his outlook and is really up for the challenge."

The promise Walton showed at Leeds has not been fulfilled despite three permanent moves and others on loan, but Blackwell has no doubt about what he might have on his hands:

"I know what potential is there, he can play, run all day, is comfortable on the ball and is more than capable of making the fans love him here.

"The pressure is on him to recapture that but if he gets it right we will have ourselves a very good player. I know his capabilities - he has to bring them out again - and getting him back to what he can be really does excite me."