Sheffield United contract plan as key player concern addressed amid off-field noise
Stephen Bettis has explained Sheffield United’s approach to contract talks with key players and addressed concerns that the off-field noise surrounding the club could make it harder to keep or attract players.
Sheffield United are in “constant” communication with players and agents about extending some of their key men’s contracts at Bramall Lane - even if the Blades’ financial situation means that some of them inevitably won’t get what they’re asking for. A number of Blades are entering key phases of their current deals.
Femi Seriki is amongst the most urgent priority to tie down, with the right-back set to become a free agent in the summer as things stand, while the likes of Michael Cooper, Harrison Burrows and Sydie Peck will all enter the final 18 months of their deals in the new year.
Deals these days often contain options in the club’s favour but the situation is still a concerning one, with United having lost so many players in recent times for cut-price fees after they entered the final 12 months of their deals.
The likes of Iliman Ndiaye, Sander Berge, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Gus Hamer are the headline examples, with some fans critical of their club for letting it get to that stage.
But United officials are constantly planning for the short, medium and long term, with player contracts always on their radar. “It’s constant,” chief executive Stephen Bettis said this week.
“It’s another thing that frustrates me. You see at times supporters talk about some of the players as if we’ve not remembered that this is where they are in their contract cycle.
“We know all of them, and we’re in discussions with a number of them right now about lengthening their contracts. But it’s also got to be the right thing for the football club as well as them.
“It’s not just a blank cheque. I see sometimes supporters saying: ‘Just give them whatever they want’, but it doesn’t work like that. If you give one player whatever they want, then the other 20 come in and go: ‘Well, why can’t I have that?’ Because they all find out.
“And you can’t do it. SCR [squad cost ratio rules] stops you doing it. So it’s a balancing act as well. You’ve got to get the numbers right; you can’t just overpay on one single contract because of the knock-on effects and the ramifications of it.
“At times, the unrest it then brings in the dressing room has a negative effect. So it’s about continuing those discussions and being patient.
“But rest assured that we’re aware of them, we are dealing with them. We are in discussions with the players and their agents; all of the players you’ve referenced. And we’ll continue to do that. Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of them done.”
There is a lot of noise currently surrounding United thanks to an interesting summer off the field, which saw the Blades investigated by both the Football League and the independent regulator after owners Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy failed to make a £35m instalment to former owner Prince Abdullah.
The subsequent winding up of their company has sparked fears of a potential EFL points deduction while the transfer of United to a new holding company, US-based 1919 Partners LLC, was not approved by the EFL before it took place.
Asked whether there was any concern that the uncertainty could make United an unattractive proposition, either to players they want to sign or ones they want to tie down, Bettis said: “No, no.
“I look at it and wonder how many clubs are actually stable? When you really start looking into it. We look at our club and because we’re all so involved and invested, we hear and see everything that’s being said.
“But if you stop that for a minute, just picked another club and started looking at them, the noise is just as loud there. The nature of football, the sums of money involved, the restrictions and everything, it’s the same.
“Manchester City’s a huge one at the moment when you look at what’s gone on there. Look, we’d rather not have it, but it’s the nature of business. That’s why we have lawyers in the world, and that’s why they’re all wealthy.
“It’s because contracts are being constantly discussed, people are not agreeing on what was agreed and what wasn’t agreed, and the reality is that’s where we are.
“I think we’re doing our best not to let it affect what’s going on here. But I will say at times the noise that gets created externally, and I mean this respectfully, by the likes of [the media] and the supporters on social media actually blows it completely out of proportion at times.
“I’m not just referring to this one. I’m referring to anything that’s gone on in the last 10 or 11 years that I’ve been at the football club. That always makes it a challenge.
“But I understand the point, and I think we’d all rather it just be completely calm. But I’ve been here, as I say, 10 or 11 years. I’ve had three different owners, various court cases and various disputes between owners, and I think that’s just the industry we’re in.”