Sheffield United: Blades 'enter race' for Stoke City midfielder Badou Ndiaye according to reports in France

Ndiaye, aged 28, had been linked with Everton and Monaco this summer after helping Senegal reach the final of the African Cup of Nations.

The midfielder joined Stoke from Galatasaray for £14m in January 2017, but couldn’t help keep the Potters in the Premier League.

“We would love Badou to come back motivated and wanting to play,” said Stoke boss Nathan Jones last month.

“I’ve had a conversation with him and he’s a real good character, a lovely guy.

“We would love him to come back and do fantastically well for Stoke City. We understand he has ambitions, but so do we.

“There’s a solution to be found to that one and if he comes back with a motivation to work hard and do well, we’d love to have him because he’s a fantastic footballer.

“And in the dealings I’ve had with him, a good character as well."

Although United haven’t publicly commented on the Ndiaye link, Chris Wilder, the United boss, revealed earlier today that he hoped to sign a midfielder on loan before tonight’s 5pm deadline.

“It’s amazing how it comes down to the last couple of days,” Wilder said.

“I shake my head at times but we’re part of the process as well.

“We’ve managed to do most of our work pretty early, which I’m delighted about. Hopefully, come 5pm, the squad will be complete and we’ll be ready to rock and roll.”