Sheffield United: Young Blades star admits he doesn't know where his future lies after goal-laden season following reported interest from Celtic

Could the next star off the conveyer belt be David Parkhouse? A goal-laden loan spell at Derry City, helping them qualify for Europe, certainly hasn’t harmed his cause, and inclusion in the League of Ireland’s team of the year is some achievement for a player who only turned 20 earlier this month.

Parkhouse, though, is out of contract at Bramall Lane at the end of this season and admits he is unsure of where his future lies. Before the English campaign kicked off, there was talk of Glasgow giants Celtic readying an approach for his services, as well as United’s Premier League rivals Everton.

“The goal is to make sure that I have the best chance of becoming a professional footballer and having a career in the game, but at the minute, to be honest, I don’t know what’s happening,” Parkhouse admitted, in an interview with the42.ie.

“I know what I want to happen, I know I want to be a footballer and wherever’s going to get me the best opportunity, that’s where I want to be.

I don’t know where it’s going to be. I’ve been playing on loan, my focus has been on Derry and I just want to get the season finished. Between the end of this week and January, there’s a lot of talking to be done, a lot of negotiating.

“It’s going to take a few months to figure out what the best plan is — it’s not going to happen overnight. Ultimately, I want to be where I’m going to get games, number one, and where it’s going to [have an effect] like Deccie [Derry boss Declan Devine] had on me this year, whether it’s being back here or somewhere [else], I just want to be where gives me the best opportunity.

“I came to Derry to get in this position, and that was something Deccie told me as well. Deccie never spoke to me and said: ‘Look, I want you as a long-term player.’

“Yes, there was talk about contractual stuff, but one thing Deccie said to me was that he wanted me back at Derry, obviously to help him out and do a bit for the team, but he also wanted me to come back to the area to put myself in a better position to go back to England.”