Paul Heckingbottom expects Vinicious Souza's style of play to make the transition from La Liga to Premier League reasonably comfortable once the Sheffield United midfielder builds his match fitness.

The 24-year-old Brazilian is one of six summer recruits with Heckingbottom still in the market for more but facing competition for Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer.

Souza made his debut as a substitute at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday after joining from Belgian club Lommel. More significantly, he spent last season on loan in Spain at Espanyol.

The Spanish and English top flights are arguably Europe's two best – although Italy managed a clean sweep of finalists in last season's UEFA competitions – but have very different styles which many a quality player has struggled to straddle.

TOUGH TACKLER: Vinicius Souza leaves his mark on Robert Lewandowski when playing for Espanyol last season

Manager Heckingbottom has no such concerns over Souza.

"Vini played 37 games last season for Espanyol and played extremely well so we know he knows the level and he's dreamed of playing in the Premier League, it's just he's not played football for a while," he said.

"He'll probably get his match fitness over the next couple of months on the pitch and it'll be a case of him learning on the training ground how we want to play.

"Anis (Slimane) and Yasser (Larouci) are a lot further on, they've done a lot of pre-season with us and it's a case of them adjusting to the league."

On why he thinks Souza should be well-suited to England, Heckingbottom explained: "His style of play is pretty combative, he likes to compete and (relishes) the defensive side of the game. He'll enjoy running back and making tackles, he'll enjoy competing and breaking things up and he handles the ball really well.

"We talk about the athleticism of the Premier League and he has that physicality so we're expecting him to suit the league."

Archer spent the second half of last season on loan at Middlesbrough and the news that Ajax have agreed a £12m fee for their striker Chuba Akpom could be a double blow, scrubbing a name off their shopping list and giving Boro funds to bring Archer back from Villa. Leeds United are also thought to be interested.

Meanwhile, teenage Paris Saint-Germain winger Djeidi Gassama is reportedly in talks to join Sheffield Wednesday.

'Combative' Sheffield United midfielder Vinicius Souza tailor-made for Premier League says Paul Heckingbottom as Blades track Cameron Archer