No way back for striking Sheffield United outcast amid talks over transfer switch to Championship rivals
Chris Wilder closes door on midfielder's potential return to Sheffield United after summer exit left bad taste in mouth
Anis Slimane’s future lies away from Sheffield United, manager Chris Wilder has confirmed, despite the Blades’ injury crisis leading to questions over a potential January recall from some sections of supporters. The midfielder started the season as part of Wilder’s squad but was allowed to leave for Norwich City after effectively going on strike for the Blades’ cup tie at Barnsley.
As The Star revealed at the time Slimane was desperate to move away from United and even met with chief executive Stephen Bettis in a bid to push through a loan switch to Carrow Road, to play under Johannes Hoff Thorup - a boss he had worked with earlier in his career as a youngster at Akademisk Boldklub. With United short of bodies in midfield following injuries to Oliver Arblaster and Vini Souza, some Unitedites asked the question of whether Slimane could be recalled in January.
Even if he could, the way he engineered his move to Norfolk did not sit well with Wilder. Norwich have the option to make Slimane’s loan a permanent move, with reports in Norfolk that he will become a Canaries player for the long-term if certain criteria are met. “I think there are talks ongoing regarding Anis,” Wilder said.
“He's there for the season and he wanted to make that decision. He would have stayed otherwise and he'd have been part of the first-team squad. But players have that option, he wanted to play for a manager he'd previously played for and Norwich is a really good club.
“So no issue with Anis in terms of what he wanted to do. Maybe he should have been a little bit clearer with it in and around that period and that game, which didn't go down too well with me as you can understand. Anis's future is away from the football club. Whether it's medium or long-term.”
United are instead seeking alternative transfer targets to bolster their options in midfield, with Liverpool youngster Tyler Morton and Hamza Choudhury, the Leicester City midfielder who worked with Wilder at United’s opponents this weekend in Watford, both targets in this vital transfer window.