Sheffield United hopeful on transfer breakthrough in pursuit of £9m man to fill priority position

Sheffield United are closing in on their sixth summer signing after Ki-Jana Hoever, the top target of many Blades fans to replace the departed Jayden Bogle, agreed a loan switch to Bramall Lane. United were light at right-back after Bogle’s departure, to potential promotion rivals Leeds United last month.

Hoever cost Wolves £9m up front when he joined from Liverpool in 2020 but did not manage to hold down a place at Molineux and spent last season on loan in the Championship with Stoke City. Sources in the Black Country are reporting that the deal will be a loan without an option for United to make the move permanent.

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A product of the Ajax academy before joining Liverpool’s youth ranks, Hoever was once described by Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs as “one of the most dangerous full-backs in the Championship at one point” and finished Stoke’s second-top scorer last season from right-back.

Hoever, 22, was part of the Wolves party that went on pre-season tours of Marbella and Miami this summer but United hope to tie up a deal before next week’s season opener away at Preston North End. Speaking in a Sky Sports interview last season, Hoever admitted he was keeping “an open mind” about his future, with two years left on his deal at Molineux.

"I'll go back to Wolves with an open mind and try and impress, but I really have no idea from there," he said. "I would love to have a crack at the Premier League and I feel like I'm ready for it, but it obviously depends on a lot of things. I never thought I didn't have the quality for the Premier League, it was just about different stuff with me."

After the Hoever deal is tied up, United boss Chris Wilder will press on with his other priority positions ahead of the closure of the transfer window later this month. United are light up front and in midfield, with central defensive reinforcements required following the departures of Chris Basham, John Egan and Mason Holgate earlier this summer. Alfie Gilchrist, the Chelsea defender who has previously been linked with United, is understood to be a loan target and can also cover at right-back as well as centre half.