Sheffield United given green light to sign former transfer target as exit from rivals edges ever closer
Sheffield United given green light to sign former transfer target as exit from rivals edges ever closer
Sheffield United have been backed to resurrect their interest in previous transfer target Jimmy Dunne this summer, when he is expected to leave QPR on a free transfer. The Irishman was United’s top defensive target in the last transfer window, with the Blades making a late bid - said to be in the region of £2m - for the player.
United officials saw that as a fair price given Dunne is scheduled to walk away from the West London side on a free transfer at the end of the season, as things stand. But QPR stood firm over their man and United refused to be held to ransom, instead switching their attentions to Rob Holding on loan from Crystal Palace.
Dunne came face-to-face with the side he could have joined last weekend when United won 2-1 at Loftus Road, the 27-year-old picking up a deserved booking for a crude challenge on Gustavo Hamer as he looked to race away towards the hosts’ goal. Quizzed recently on Dunne by The Star, boss Chris Wilder was not drawn on whether he retains his interest in the player.
But former Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Leeds United man David Prutton - who also had a spell on the other side of the Steel City as a player - believes the Blades will go back in for Dunne in the summer if he does walk away from QPR on a free transfer.
"I heard Chris Wilder talk about the interest in the player,” said Prutton, now an EFL pundit and host with Sky Sports. “He didn’t go into details, such is the respect that he holds his fellow managers and clubs in, but it does seem a name that would fit with what the Blades are about. Particularly from a defensive point of view.
“He has discipline, organisation, he can pop up with a goal. He’s a good age, 27. He's been part of a QPR side which, for long periods, have looked like they've really pulled their fingers out after a sluggish start to the season under Marti Cifuentes.
"That team that we saw in the second half of last season, that really did put some good work in to relay any lingering relegation fears, shows what he's capable of in a collective that's capable of doing something pretty good."
By the summer, of course, United could be swimming in much more lucrative waters if they continue their good recent form and reclaim the place in the Premier League that they surrendered so meekly in the summer. If so, the hope is that they will make a better fist of life in the top-flight, with the prospect of more substantial backing from the club’s new owners COH Sports.
But even then, United will keep their options open and Wilder has experienced great success in the past at Bramall Lane from scouring the bargain market and moulding players into ones who went on to enjoy great success at this football club.
Speaking to Football League World, Prutton continued: "QPR, historically, are a team that's been part of the top division furniture. However, in recent years it hasn't been the case and, given Sheffield United's ability to get promoted and to have that taste of the Premier League, that's potentially what piques a player's interest.
"What I've seen of Dunne, what I've seen of his ability, and to organise and marshal a defence and be a really reliable responsible part of that, would be music to Wilder’s ears. However, as [Wilder] quite rightly and respectfully says, he is a QPR player. But right now, that doesn't stop teams, managers and recruitment divisions putting people on their wanted list."