Sheffield United contract latest as Blades look to take 'aggressive' approach over key players' futures
Chris Wilder is hopeful Sheffield United can agree new deals with a number of key players as the Blades plan for the future after a few summers of big turnover
Chris Wilder remains optimistic that Sheffield United can tie down a number of key members of his squad to new contracts, but admits negotiations are ongoing as the club look to build a team capable of delivering long-term success. The Blades are keen to protect the long-term value of a number of their assets.
Femi Seriki is perhaps the most pressing concern, with his current terms set to expire next summer as things stand, while a number of other key men - including Michael Cooper, Harrison Burrows and Sydie Peck - enter the final 18 months of their present deals in the new year.
United may well be protected with options in some of those cases but they are still keen to agree new contracts, with the players’ representatives invited to the negotiating table.
“There's nothing that's really changed on that,” said Wilder on the situation ahead of tomorrow’s home clash with Derby County. There's always that negotiation part that we have to go through, that process.
“Agents, as you can imagine, are not going on first offers. The owners and Steve [Bettis, chief executive] know how important it is that we keep hold of our best players. But we also have to be sensible with the new contracts.
“Usually the new contracts involve an uplift, and usually there's a little bit of difference of opinion of where that uplift sits. But hopefully we can be aggressive in our approach and tie these boys down.”
Wilder believes retaining the right players is vital to building consistency, rather than continually relying on major changes to the squad in the transfer market. United went into this season on the back of major turnover in the summer.
“We can't always have transfer windows like that, with a load of players going out and a load of players coming in,” he said. “I'm never pleading for three, four, five and six windows. I've never done that.
“Some managers possibly need that, and plead for it. I get that, but it isn’t always going to be done in one window. We had 24 out this summer and six in. That's a big number. I don't want to get anywhere near that again.”
There is an obvious benefit for United in securing players to longer-term deals in terms of protecting their transfer value, but there is also the benefit of consistency and build by keeping them around the place rather than constantly searching for upgrades.
Virtually all the side expected to take on John Eustace’s Derby tomorrow have only been in South Yorkshire for a few years - Rhys Norrington-Davies is United’s longest-serving current player, having come through the academy, but has only played 76 times for the Blades over his long Bramall Lane career.
“For that to happen, tying down the players that we want here and we see as part of the future on longer-term contracts is important,” Wilder added. “I’ve always said there's a value in players in a winning team and hopefully we will be a winning team.
“And there's a value in players playing 100, 150, 200 league games as well. We haven't had enough of those players. I think if you look through the group now, where are those players? Michael Cooper, hopefully. Harrison Burrows, hopefully.
“This is Femi's second or third season. Sydie’s second, third season. Blaster [Oliver Arblaster]’s second, third season. Joe Rothwell, Jairo [Riedewald], Kalvin [Phillips], the skipper [Japhet Tanganga].
“The loan players, Pat Bamford. We haven't got anybody who’s been here two, three, four years and who are underpinning a lot of the work that we're putting in as well. And driving it from a player's point of view.”