Scottish giants Rangers 'failed in deadline day move' for Sheffield United summer signing

Transfer deadline day proved to be an exciting occasion for Blades fans, as a highly-successful transfer window was capped off with the loan acquisitions of Bayern Leverkusen defender Panagiotis Retsos and exciting young forward Richairo Zivkovic.
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

In terms of outgoings, Chris Wilder sanctioned the temporary exit of summer signing Ravel Morrison, who will look to impress during a loan spell with Jonathan Woodgate's struggling Middlesbrough team.

Kean Bryan and Mark Duffy also secured fresh loan spells, to Bolton Wanderers and ADO Den Haag respectively, while Callum Robinson joined West Bromwich Albion in a temporary deal lasting until the end of the campaign.

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A report from Football Insider has now claimed that the Blades could have also parted company with midfielder Luke Freeman on deadline, but the club rejected a loan offer from Rangers, who tried for the second time in the space of the transfer window to bag the former Queens Park Rangers talisman.

Certainly, with United landing arguably the coup of the transfer window in Norway international Sander Berge, Freeman's already limited first team opportunities could become even more scarce in the coming months.

Since joining the club last summer, the 27-year-old has made just three Premier League starts – the highlight of which was his involvement Wilder’s sides’ 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge back in late August. Other than that, he’s been limited largely to substitute appearances, and the odd cameo outing in the cup competitions.

However, despite reported additional interest from the likes of Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Celtic, Wilder opted to hold on to the playmaker, who will be kept as a rotation option to support the Blades in their highly successful 2019/20 season.

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Freeman's future at the club is assured for now, but time will tell whether the Blades look for a higher quality upgrade in the next transfer window. With the glimmer of European football lurking tantalisingly on the horizon, the calibre of player available to United in the summer will be far higher than they - and indeed a host of pundits - had anticipated before the campaign began.