Rangers 'eye' Championship star as Sheffield United make surprise contract decision

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday will already be looking ahead to next season with their respective statuses confirmed. Both teams will compete in the Championship, and we will have two Steel City derbies to look forward to for the first time in five years.

Chris Wilder will be a very busy man this summer, bidding to overhaul his Blades squad, while Danny Rohl will want to add quality in key areas to avoid any sort of relegation battle. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding both clubs and their second tier rivals

Grayson on Farke

Former Leeds United boss Simon Grayson believes Daniel Farke has solidified his spot as Leeds boss regarless of what happens in Sunday’s Play-off final. Speaking to Football League World, Grayson said: “I think you never know what’s round the corner or what decisions people are making, but from what I see and what I’ve heard around, the owners at Leeds have been very impressed with Daniel. He’s come in, and the summer and the first month of the season was a mess with players that were leaving, not leaving.

“It was a mixed bag of results to start with, but he’s steadied the ship and got them in an unbelievable position. Of course, the expectancy level at Leeds is huge and they were expected to go straight back up and wanted to go straight back up, but that isn’t easy. What he’s achieved will weigh in his favour, but again with football, you never know. I’d be very surprised if he was to leave Leeds if they didn’t get promoted.”

Rangers eye talent

Scottish giants Rangers are said to be keen on a move for Stoke City midfielder Sol Sidibe this summer. According to Foot Mercato, Gers boss Philippe Clement has set his sights on the 17-year-old, but a deal may be tricky to pull off.

The Potters are said to be intent on keeping Sidibe, having already given him first team opportunities during the season just gone, and the youngster is under contract for another two years.

Osborn U-turn

Sheffield United’s prospective new owners influenced the decision to perform a dramatic U-turn on the decision to keep Ben Osborn at Bramall Lane this summer, The Star understands. The midfielder was told before the end of the season that the option in his deal, to tie him to Bramall Lane for a further 12 months, would be exercised, with boss Chris Wilder also going public about keeping the utility man at United.

When Osborn left Bramall Lane on Sunday, after a final-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur that saw United fans say goodbye to five departing players, there was no indication that he would join them, wishing staff well for the summer and saying he would see them next season. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Osborn didn’t receive official confirmation of his option being taken up ahead of this week’s deadline - before being told it had been rescinded after intervention from United’s prospective buyers.

The situation means that a Bramall Lane takeover is closer than initially believed, with the would-be new owners already having an influence behind the scenes. A US-based consortium is one party interested in buying the club from current owner Prince Abdullah, with interest from the Prince’s homeland in Saudi Arabia as well after he enlisted the renowned financial institution Lazard in a bid to find a buyer for the Blades following two failed deals with chequered businessmen from the United States and then Nigeria.

The news will be an understandable blow for a player whose future is now suddenly up in the air, weeks after being told he would be at Bramall Lane for another season at least, with both his versatility and character earmarked as valuable to the Blades ahead of their return to the Championship.