CHRIS Wilder has paid a heartfelt tribute to George Baldock following the latter’s death aged just 31.

Baldock drowned while swimming in the pool at his home in Athens last week, a family statement has confirmed.

The two-time former Oxford United loanee worked with former U’s boss Wilder at Sheffield United, and helped the club reach the Premier League.

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In an interview posted on the Blades’ Twitter account, Wilder said: “George was a huge personality, a huge driver, and a huge culture carrier in everything that we did.

“In how I wanted it to look, how the staff wanted it to look, how Sheffield United supporters wanted their team to look, and how they wanted their players to act and represent them, and the way they wanted their players to go about their business, George epitomised everything on and off the pitch.

“He was a humble person off the pitch. We had rows and bust-ups and words, and you would expect that between the two personalities, but we were all driving it forward and after the same outcome and goal in everything we did.

“I’m a massive one in terms of standards and how training should look, and he was ultra-competitive, as were the group, and he drove that.

“Families have lost their son, and players have lost a brother. Those boys that went to battle with George, he stood up to every challenge.”

Wilder added: “His performances in the Premier League, week in and week out, it used to make me smile because one day it was Wilf Zaha and one day it was [Raheem] Sterling, and the next game it was [Jack] Grealish.

“All these top-drawer players, and he just saw them off game by game. He respected them, but when the whistle blew, he was after them and he set the tone for everything.”

Wilder also recalled how he signed Baldock for the Blades in June 2017, with the defender going on to spend seven years at Bramall Lane.

“I’d watched him and known about him. He couldn’t get in the MK Dons team, but they were very good at the time,” said Wilder.

“Karl Robinson had an excellent side there, and he went on loan to Northampton and then Oxford, and I watched him, and I remember saying to Robbo ‘you’ve got to recall George because he’s absolutely ripping it up at Oxford’.

“Him and Kemar Roofe came in, and I watched him, and I thought ‘he would do for me’.

“He was absolutely perfect in what we’re trying to achieve; athletic, physical, attitude, and could play as well.

“You don’t get to the stage in your career what he did, playing in the Premier League and then playing internationally, by not having ability as well.

“He wanted to learn, he wanted to work hard, he wanted to compete, he wanted to play, and he wanted to win most importantly.”