Chris Basham earmarked for key Sheffield United return as 10-year Bramall Lane career comes to end

Chris Basham has been earmarked for a key Sheffield United role in the future after his playing days at Bramall Lane come to an end this summer. The club legend’s 10-year spell at United is in its final throes ahead of his summer release as he continues to rehabilitate from a horror injury he suffered earlier in the season at Fulham.

Basham, still limping after the injury which has threatened his playing career, has been offered the use of United’s staff and Shirecliffe facilities to continue his rehabilitation process ahead of his next move as he approaches his 36th birthday this summer. The priority at the minute for Basham, according to manager Chris Wilder, is getting back to a normal life.

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But as a man who has embodied everything good about United in recent times, and who has overcome real setbacks before to make it to the top, Basham will have a lot to offer going forward, too. The United manager has been big on the idea of “culture carriers” driving standards in the dressing room and suggested that the defender could fulfil that sort of role in the future at Bramall Lane.

"I don't know what his future plans are,” Wilder admitted of Basham. “There are some players that are automatically suited to coaching and possibly potential managers and some who don't see that as a pathway. We've not really sat down with Chris but I'm a big believer in people involved in this football club having a connection with it.

"If you look at the two boys we've brought in for recruitment, Jamie Hoyland's had a career here, Mikey Allen's been here 15 years, there's myself, Jack Lester's played for the football club, Matt Duke has. In the academy Del Geary has played as well. And even if they've not played for us they've had careers and know what a footballer looks like and what you have to do to be a footballer.

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"But some players coaching's not for them. We'd like to open those discussions but it's all right ex-players saying: ‘I want to be a manager and I'll get him as my assistant and him as my goalkeeper coach, and I'm off and running,’ but I think there's a bit more to it than that.

"There's no gimmes and no givens, you've got to good enough and able to deliver and to have a passion for it. One thing Chris has got is a determination and passion for everything he does. Would I be surprised if he turned his hand to coaching with his personality? I'm sure he can."

Even if he doesn’t, there are other ways that Wilder could utilise Basham experiences - both at Bramall Lane and before them - to inspire the next generation. Club legend Tony Currie is still a regular figure on matchday while former players including Carl Bradshaw and Mitch Ward are also familiar faces in United’s executive boxes, further cementing that connection between those on the terraces and their heroes on the field.

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“I’m sure Bash will be in one of those boxes next season talking away and talking positively about his time," he said. "We can get him in front of the younger players to tell them about his journey and his setbacks as well, from working in McDonald's to doing a Cryuff turn against England's No. 9 away at Spurs.

“He's had to do a lot of good things to get to that situation and endure some difficult times. That's something the team has struggled with. You have to deal with difficulty and disappointment through a game, through a season, through your career. He's dealt with difficult situations and come out on top. He can be extremely proud of what he's achieved in his career."