Chris Wilder's welcome transfer vow after Sheffield United pair linked with big Premier League moves

Sheffield United are intent on learning the lessons of past mistakes and not selling the family silver on the cheap, after two graduates of their famed Shirecliffe academy were linked with Premier League transfer moves of late. United’s reputation for bringing through youngsters is amongst the best in the country but with that brings attention from clubs currently higher up the football pyramid.

That has led to speculation of late linking 18-year-old Ryan One and boyhood Blade Louie Marsh, 20, with moves elsewhere, with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Everton amongst the clubs mentioned. Both have been in and around the first-team picture this season but have been pushed down the pecking order of late with the arrivals of Tom Cannon and Ben Brereton Diaz.

While One is under contract until the summer of 2029 United are a little more vulnerable when it comes to the future of Marsh, who signed a deal until the summer of 2026 before heading out on loan to Doncaster Rovers back in 2023. United have watched on before as youngsters from their academy have grown and grown with other clubs - with Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker two of the most notable examples - and when asked if the likes of One and Marsh were players he would be keen to hold on to, Wilder admitted: “One hundred per cent. Absolutely.

“It's happened far too many times in the past, that we've let our best young players go. There are always going to be those situations where we can't afford to keep them, and from the players' point of view we can't stand in their way or financially turn that down. There'll be deals going on this week that clubs will not be able to turn down, that are in an incredibly healthy financial position.

“So we'd like to get into that position where we build around the [Oliver] Arblasters and Sydie Pecks and Femi Serikis and Marshys and Ryan Ones. Add to them with the likes of [Michael] Cooper and Harrison Burrows, and still make smart signings and still make ambitious signings as well. So I think that's the whole process of trying to put a group together.”

Wilder confirmed that chief executive Steve Bettis and new owners Steven Rosen had turned down approaches in this window. “There's all those different parts that you bring together to hopefully give you that opportunity to be successful,” the Blades boss added ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s trip to Derby County. “There have been a couple of calls on a few players through the window but they've been rebuffed straight away by Steve Bettis and the owners. So we're all on the same page.”