Aaron Ramsdale reveals he REFUSED to play for Sheffield United in bid to force through Arsenal move in bombshell interview

The England international was speaking on Ben Foster’s podcast, where he discussed the move to the Emirates earlier this summer after months of back and forth between officials at Bramall Lane and their counterparts in the capital.

Ramsdale also claimed that the early-season sacking of new manager Slavisa Jokanovic, only appointed in the summer after the Blades’ relegation from the Premier League, was on the cards before the campaign even kicked off, that things behind the scenes at United were not well and that an unnamed figure at Bramall Lane commented negatively on his performance levels shortly after returning to United in a big-money move from Bournemouth.

After Ramsdale made it clear that he wanted the opportunity to speak to the London club, United eventually relented and sanctioned his departure for a fee initially in the region of £24m, which could rise to £30m if certain clauses relating to his performances for the Gummers are met.

And speaking to on fellow goalkeeper Foster’s popular podcast, Ramsdale revealed how he refused to play for the Blades away at West Bromwich Albion shortly before his move was confirmed.

“I’d have happily played in the Championship but there were a lot of things behind the scenes at Sheffield United which weren’t going very well,” Ramsdale said.

“They had the manager [Jokanovic] sacking a few weeks ago, and you could see that in pre-season.

“They [United] might go up and it wasn’t me hiding away from a challenge but I looked at it and said: ‘It’s Arsenal, I’ll go there and even if I don’t play for a year or a year and a half there’s a plan there for me.’

“I had a few phone calls with the manager [Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta] and every time I spoke to him I was telling my agent to get it done.”

Ramsdale was frustrated by United’s initial reluctance to deviate from their £40m valuation of the goalkeeper, who was their player of the season despite relegation from the Premier League and was called into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for that summer’s European Championships.

That was the second season in succession that Ramsdale had suffered relegation from the Premier League, suffering the same fate with Bournemouth before returning to the Blades - leaving many supporters baffled that a goalkeeper with such a record could be valued at £40m.

“The numbers that were getting thrown about… a couple of times I lost my head,” Ramsdale added.

“I was like, how can someone be talking about £40m? I was doing the fan thing, thinking ‘relegated and £40m - it doesn’t make sense.’

“I understand that if I was to leave they wanted to get someone else in, and the market wasn’t that wide at the time. I understood they wanted to keep me but at some point it’s got to be a level playing field, where they offer enough money for you to make profit.

“I said I understood where they were coming from but told them what I wanted to do and they said they wouldn’t stand in my way if a bid came in of whatever.

“There were bids coming in and they were turning them down. I got told on the day of a game that a bid had come in, and I decided to play. And then after the game, they rejected it.”

Ramsdale also recalled a conversation with an unnamed official at Bramall Lane, referencing his early-season form. Ramsdale initially struggled to justify his big-money move, and to replace the popular Dean Henderson, before growing in stature as the season went on and impressing with his performances in a struggling United side.

“I hope my agent doesn’t see this as I might get in trouble, but normally if you don’t get your move, you’re rewarded with a new contract. It’s not set in stone but that’s normal,” Ramsdale said.

“So we said that and someone at the club, I won’t name names, said: ‘We didn’t ask him to take less money when he was conceding goals at the start of last year.’

“I basically went: ‘I won’t play against West Brom, do what you want.’ I didn’t train for the first two days of the week and the manager was like: ‘He’ll be alright, he’ll play.’

“Tuesday came and I was like: ‘No, I’m not playing.’ I wasn’t in the squad and then 10 minutes before kick off I was on my way down.”

Ramsdale has not looked back, making an impressive start to life at the Emirates and earning his first senior England cap against San Marino earlier this year.

United struggled with their own start to the season but have picked up of late under Paul Heckingbottom, who took over when Jokanovic was sacked last month.

“I said to them from the start: ‘I’m more than happy to play, you know I’ll try my best for the football club, and if they don’t put the money up them I’m here.’

“But then when you say one thing about a substantial bid coming in, and then turn it down, there’s got to be a middle ground. And when that comment got made…

“The stress of the transfer… I got psoriasis from it. Pure stress. It came on in about two days from me saying I’m not playing to it happening.”

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