Free agent possibility open to Sheffield United after EFL squad list decision confirmed
Sheffield United confirm EFL squad as free agent possibility raises its head again
Sheffield United have left themselves the option of adding some free agents to their squad before the next transfer window opens for business after their EFL squad list was officially confirmed. The Blades are light on cover and depth in certain areas, with boss Chris Wilder thwarted in his attempts to bolster his squad before the window slammed shut late last month.
But there remains the option of United adding any free agents to their squad, if the right players are available and the finances work out. United were permitted to name up to 25 senior players to the EFL this summer after the closure of the window but their roster contains 21 - theoretically leaving four available spots if United decided to go down the free agent route.
Boss Wilder was giving little away when asked by The Star at the weekend whether that was a possibility, insisting he was just getting his head down and concentrating on the team. The 25-man squad does not include permanent contracted players under the age of 21 but has to include loan players, no matter their age - so 20-year-old Alfie Gilchrist is in the senior squad but 20-year-old Oliver Arblaster is not.
Arblaster is still eligible, however, as are the other players on the U21 list - including Andre Brooks, Sydie Peck and Louie Marsh, who have all experienced first-team football this term. Ivo Grbic and Ismaila Coulibaly, who still could leave this summer if United receive interest from any of the few countries whose transfer windows are still open for business, are also named in the Blades’ senior 25, alongside left-back Harry Boyes.
Sheffield United’s 25-man EFL squad
Ahmedhodzic, Anel
Boyes, Harry
Brewster, Rhian Joel
Burrows, Harrison James
Campbell, Tyrese Kai
Cooper, Michael John
Coulibaly, Ismaila Cheick
Davies, Adam Rhys
Davies, Thomas
De Souza Costa, Vinicius
Gilchrist, Alfie
Grbic, Ivo
Hamer, Gustavo Martin Emilio
McCallum, Sam Benjamin
Moore, Kieffer Roberto Francisco
Norrington-Davies, Rhys Llewelyn
O'Hare, Callum Luke
Rak-Sakyi, Jesurun
Robinson, Jack
Shackleton, Jamie Stuart
Souttar, Harry James
Sheffield United U21 players
Arblaster, Oliver Luke
Aston, Samual James
Atherton, Alfie Jake
Beattie, Jevan
Blacker, Billy Rolfe
Brooks, Andre Chance
Buyabu, Jili
Cummings, Ethan
Curtis, Sam
Easton, Evan Peter
Faxon, Luke John
Francis, Marshall Emmanuel
Freckleton, Miguel Oliver
Hackford, Antwoine
Hampson, Owen Matthew
Haughton-Parris, Mekhi Kamal
Havenhand, Kurtis Ryan
Marsh, Louie Joseph
Molyneux, Henry Edward Arthur
One, Ryan Martin
Peck, Sydie Frederick
Prunty, Jayden Ramell
Sachdev, Sai Sachin Rony
Sasnauskas, Dovydas
Seriki, Oluwafemi Ibrahim
Tinsdale, Jay Dillan
Waldron, Jack William