Dean's distribution has long been one of his assets and he is able to launch long throws like the one that set up Luke Shaw's killer second goal in the Manchester derby.
Yet much analysis of his work at Bramall Lane over two hugely successful loan spells seemed to suggest it was an area where he was inferior to many of his peers. This was probably infuriating for anybody who had seen him develop in our youth ranks.
The simple fact is Chris Wilder's side did not really play out from the back, like a lot of sides.