"If it does happen..." Chris Wilder's Sheffield United transfer sale stance as key duo linked with moves away
Chris Wilder’s sale stance as Sheffield United duo Anel Ahmedhodzic and Oliver Arblaster linked with moves away this month
Chris Wilder has reassured Sheffield United supporters that he and his recruitment team are “ready” if any of the Blades’ prized assets are prised away before the end of the transfer window, despite reasserting his wish to keep his current group together. The window slams shut next Friday at 11pm, eleven weeks after it first opened.
Despite a sluggish start to their work in the transfer market, not helped by uncertainty over the future ownership of the club, the Blades have assembled an impressive-looking squad, lowering the average age of their roster as well as banking a profit from the big-money sales of Jayden Bogle and Will Osula. But any talk of this window’s success should be caveated with the fact that it still has 10 days to run, with United still somewhat vulnerable to big-money approaches from clubs in the Premier League and abroad.
Vini Souza has been linked with a move away from Bramall Lane ever since United were officially relegated back to the Championship earlier this year but remains in South Yorkshire, as do midfielder Oliver Arblaster and defender Anel Ahmedhodzic. According to the Daily Telegraph Brentford are eyeing a potential move for Arblaster this summer, while newly-promoted duo Ipswich Town and Southampton are also monitoring his progress.
Wolves have been credited with interest in Ahmedhodzic as a potential replacement for Max Kilman, who joined West Ham in a £40m deal earlier this summer, and Gus Hamer has also been linked with a move away after an impressive start to the season. But Wilder is loathe to lose any of his big players at this stage of the season, despite acknowledging that it could be out of his hands.
“You never know,” he admitted. “But we're ready. Part of the jobs of Jamie [Hoyland, chief scout] and Mikey [Allen, head of recruitment] is to cover that off as well. So if that does happen, we'll deal with it. But I don't want to lose anybody. And if we do, we have to cover it off with quality and with experience and like-for-like replacements, in my opinion. And if it comes to it, hopefully we'll be able to do that.”