Former Sheffield United man's “quite cheap” transfer exit highlights lessons Blades need to learn in future
Former Sheffield United man opens up on “quite cheap” transfer exit as Blades look to learn the lessons
Anel Ahmedhodzic has admitted the fee that saw him prised away from Sheffield United this summer was “quite cheap,” and returning boss Chris Wilder will want to get a grip on United’s contract situation to avoid a repeat in the future. The Bosnian defender moved to Feyenoord earlier this summer for a fee of around £7m.
That number was reduced because Ahmedhodzic was in the final year of his Bramall Lane deal, although United were able to eke some more cash out of the Dutch giants by rejecting their first offer and then inserting a number of clauses into the deal that took him to the Netherlands.
Unitedites are well used to players holding the cards over their futures in recent years, with Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye also moving on not so long ago after entering the final year of their respective deals.
Returning the power to the club was a big target of Wilder’s during his early years at Bramall Lane and one he was successful in achieving, with United regularly tying down their key men to longer-term deals before they approached the time when other clubs began to circle.
Tom Davies, along with new signings Danny Ings and Ben Mee, is out of contract next summer and will be hoping to earn a fresh deal while the two veterans who recently joined United have options to extend. Adam Davies is another set to become a free agent next June as things stand.
Feyenoord sporting director Dennis te Kloese admitted he felt it was “remarkable” that his side were able to prise away Ahmedhodzic for such a reasonable fee, with the player himself telling Dutch media: “I think so too... quite cheap, if I say so myself.”
Ahmedhodzic was also asked if he was surprised there was not more interest from the top-flight in England. “Yes and no,” he admitted. “I had a bad year in the Premier League, then we [United] were relegated. That wasn’t a good year, but you have to take it on the chin and move on.”