Sheffield United 'closing in' as 'accepts' transfer claim made

Sheffield United have reportedly moved a step closer to sealing their next January transfer window signing. The Blades have been active this month with Ben Brereton Diaz joining the club on loan from Villarreal and they are pushing to add more names to their squad before the transfer deadline.

A goalkeeper seems to be on Chris Wilder's wish list as he looks to plug what has been a problem position and the likes of Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward have been linked over the course of the window. However, if a report in Spanish outlet Marca is to be believed, it seems United may have found their man in Ivo Grbic.

The report claims Grbic has accepted a move to Bramall Lane after a claim in the Croatian media last week that the club had placed a bid of £2m to take the goalkeeper from the Spanish capital. Grbic will be looking to pick up some much-needed game time it seems after spending the majority of his time with Atletico deputising for established number one Jan Oblak.

The 28-year-old is a Croatia international with two caps under his belt and he'll no doubt be hoping to build the form and momentum required in order to claim a spot in his nation's squad for Euro 2024 this summer. Grbic joined Atletico in 2020 from Croatian outfit NK Lokomotiva but he has made just 14 appearances for the club in that time with his most recent outing coming against Villarreal at the back end of last season.

The goalkeeper did enjoy a season-long loan spell with Ligue 1 side Lille during the 2021-22 campaign and managed to keep five clean sheets in 29 appearances.

Should the reports be accurate and the deal progress, Grbic will be expected to compete for a spot in the Blades side with current number one Wes Foderingham. The custodian has struggled for form in the Premier League season and despite making 92 saves this season, seven more than any other player, he has conceded 51 goals.

That's a defensive record that is comfortably the worst in the top flight, with Burnley's 42 goals conceded ensuring they have the second poorest record in the division. As such, it's fair to say that if the Blades are to survive this season, they must stop shipping goals at such an alarming rate and Wilder will be hoping a change in goalkeeper can go some way towards that.