Sheffield United: Defender praised for ignoring the transfer noise
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Having seen transfers to Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos fail to materialise, the 25-year-old inevitably endured a slow start to the present campaign. But after coming to terms with the fact he would not be playing Premier League or Champions League football - United’s hierarchy rejecting bids from both Steve Cooper’s side and the reigning Greek title-holders - Lowe has been in fine form of late.
Reflecting on the journey the defender has been on since returning from his hugely successful loan spell at the City Ground, where he helped Cooper’s side win promotion via the Championship play-offs, United manager Paul Heckingbottom told The Star: “Max has done well, really well. He’s got all of the attributes we want in that position. There’s still a lot more to come from him too. It’s good to see and now he’s got to keep on taking those strides forward, the same as everyone else.”
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Heckingbottom, who saw Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye both remain at Bramall Lane following yesterday’s deadline for new signings, admitted to being in constant communication with Lowe during United’s preparations for the new season.
Forest are known to have made at least two attempts to lure him away from South Yorkshire before eventually admitting defeat in their efforts to broker a deal. Then, Olympiakos also submitted a £1m offer for Lowe which they believed effectively covered the money United paid to acquire him from Derby County 24 months ago. Like Forest, they are also owned by shipping and media magnate Evangelos Marinakis. But sources with knowledge of the proposal submitted by agents acting on Olympiakos’ behalf insisted it did not represent an attempt to lead Lowe to the east Midlands via the back door.
“The great thing about Max is that we’ve worked with him before,” said Heckingbottom, who completed a spell in caretaker charge of United before being appointed on a permanent basis in November. “He’s got pace, he can defend and he takes in information well.”