Sheffield United boss answers Anel Ahmedhodzic captaincy and transfer future questions amid inconsistent form

Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United manager, did not offer any guarantees about Anel Ahmedhodzic’s future beyond the end of the season ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Bournemouth. The United skipper was the subject of transfer interest from Napoli in the January transfer window. 

But he remained at Bramall Lane beyond the February 1 transfer deadline although the Blades are braced for further interest in the Bosnian international defender in the summer, whatever happens in their bid for Premier League survival.  In a season of inconsistent personal form from a defender many expected to adapt to Premier League life with ease, many fans have also questioned his suitability as captain. 

But Wilder, who gave him the armband after returning to the club in December, said: “Anel’s a good player, but there has been interest in him and there will be interest in him. But I don’t think he should be looking beyond the next game and we’re certainly not.

“I don’t think that personally it’s a reason why we’re getting spanked by Arsenal and Villa – because Anel’s captain – and I thought he was outstanding at Wolves and at Luton. These are the things that you have to deal with, whether it’s Anel or myself. When things are going well, people will say decent things about you to Anel and maybe when they’re not, as captain of the team, he has to take that responsibility on board.”

Wilders decision to substitute senior players Ollie Norwood - after just 16 minutes - and later Ahmedhodzic in Monday’s 6-0 hammering at home to Arsenal was interpreted in some quarters as a watershed moment in their United careers. But Wilder explained Norwood’s withdrawal was purely a tactical move, to go to a back five, and Ahmedhodzic was carrying an injury that was not worth further risk at 5-0 down.

“Players haven’t got to be precious about pride or whatever,” Wilder said. “The [Norwood] decision was made tactically by me – we needed to try and do better with Saka because if we hadn’t done previously.

“We’re all hurting and we’re all suffering in that moment – supporters, players, management and coaching staff. But the Anel one, he had a tight hamstring going into the game. It’s been an issue over a number of weeks and we’ve had to modify his training, which people don’t see. He’s not training for the majority of the week and sometimes we’re having to make physical substitutions with a lot of the boys. 

"That’s not a great place to be at the moment, but we’re just going to have to deal with it. If we can get Anel out there, and he’s fit enough to do that, we just looked at it and we felt the game had gone so there was no point in trying to put him in a worse position than he is in.”