Rhian Brewster contract state of play as Sheffield United man edges ever closer to Bramall Lane exit

In just over a week’s time, as things stand, Rhian Brewster’s Sheffield United contract will officially expire and the former Liverpool man will officially become a free agent. The 25-year-old joined the Blades in a big-money deal from the current Premier League champions back in 2020.

The undoubted highlight of his United career came last season, when he scored an iconic derby-day winner over rivals Wednesday at Hillsborough to secure a double for the Blades, and his fortunes on the fitness front were also much improved as the Blades came within 15 minutes of an instant return to the Premier League.

It still remains uncertain, however, whether last month’s play-off final defeat to Sunderland will be Brewster’s last game in a Blades shirt. A contract offer has been on the table for a while now but has remained unsigned, with his current terms set to expire at the end of this month.

Former Blades chief Chris Wilder was keen to retain Brewster’s services, having brought him to Bramall Lane in the first place during his first spell, and his departure this week, and Ruben Selles’ appointment as his successor, is not understood to have seen the offer withdrawn or affected.

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The Blades confirmed in their end-of-season retained list that they were in negotiations with Brewster and The Star understands that those discussions are ongoing, with the two parties currently a fair way apart in their respective valuations. Brewster’s decision, therefore, may depend on what he, or more accurately his representatives, can get elsewhere for their client.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiation process have suggested that the deal could still be agreed to prolong the former England U21 international’s time at Bramall Lane, which saw him transformed from a penalty-area No.9 striker into a deeper-lying playmaker or operating on the wing last season.

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Brewster is said to be settled at Bramall Lane and may well feel keen to repay the club for their faith in him through a torrid period with injury, which hampered his hopes of hitting the ground running in South Yorkshire after a big-money switch.

If he does move on then it would also alter the recruitment priorities for the Blades this summer, with Kieffer Moore, Tom Cannon and Tyrese Campbell their other options in terms of senior strikers.