Vinicius Souza finally impresses his mum with first Sheffield United goal against Luton.... after her brutal words following difficult start to Premier League life

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It has been a long time coming for Vini Souza and Sheffield United.

Finally, the 24-year-old Brazilian has made his mark in the Premier League. Finally, Blades fans saw what the fuss was all about.

As Chris Wilder put it, Souza arrived at Bramall Lane with ‘a big CV’ and a big fee, with Sheffield United splashing out £10million to sign him from Belgian side Lommel last summer following an impressive loan spell in LaLiga with Espanyol.

His goal against Luton on Saturday, his first for the club and just the fourth of his senior career, not only wrapped up a vital 3-1 win but showed why he came with such a reputation.

Prior to his dominant display here, he had struggled to adapt in a poor season for the Blades and been the subject of criticism from supporters, both inside the ground and on social media. Even his own mother hasn’t been happy with his performances.

Vinicius Souza revealed his mother told him he ‘needs to finish better’ -but now she’ll be smiling after his first Premier League goal

He scored Sheffield United’s third goal as they clinched a crucial 3-1 victory at Luton

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‘At last I have my first goal for the club and that is amazing,’ Souza said. ‘My mum has been telling me every day “Come on Vini, please – you need to finish better”.

‘She has always been impressing that on me because I have never before managed to score and finish. So to get the opportunity and do it against Luton was great.’

Souza was here, there and everywhere at Kenilworth Road. He was at the centre of both VAR penalty incidents before he won the ball, surged forward, collected a pass from Ben Osborn and rifled home past Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to seal a victory which boosts the Blades’ slim hopes of pulling off the greatest of escapes.

His midfield partnership with Gustavo Hamer, himself a £15m summer signing, gave the visitors a platform to record their first away win of the season.

And Wilder challenged the duo to produce that level more consistently and spearhead their battle to avoid the drop, starting with the visit of Brighton on Sunday.

‘Gus and Vini are big signings for us, so they need to be the leaders, the best players and the consistent performers and everybody jumps in behind that,’ he said.

‘Did he [Souza] expect to be in a team in the Champions League? Possibly not, but he didn’t expect to be in the situation that he is. Vini has got to take part of that responsibility as well for the position of the football club.’