Sheffield United key man wants to end career at Bramall Lane amid contract uncertainty

Ollie Norwood has admitted he would like to finish his playing career at Sheffield United after revealing that some of the best times of his life, never mind his career, have come at Bramall Lane. The former Northern Ireland international has twice helped United into the Premier League after signing in 2018.

Now 32, Norwood established himself as one of United’s most important and consistent performers and has also statistically been one of their most valuable players so far this season, despite Paul Heckingbottom’s side struggling at the foot of the table and without a win so far.

Former Blades boss Chris Wilder signed Norwood in 2018, initially on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, with the deal being made permanent in the following January transfer window. Earlier this season he passed Carl Bradshaw to become the record Premier League appearance-maker in the club’s history.

“When I first signed here, on the first day, if you said that I wouldn’t have believed it,” Norwood said on the Blades’ official One of Our Own podcast. “You have to pinch yourself at times, because of how far we’ve come and the journey we’ve been on.

“It’s been a rollercoaster – it always is at this place, so I’m told, through the years – and some of the best times of, not just my career but my life have come here. I genuinely mean that. When the day comes to hang the boots up – and unfortunately for some it won’t be for a long time yet, hopefully – I’d like to think I could come back here as a fan.

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“I genuinely, genuinely mean that. It’s been a home for me, it really has, and if you offered me the chance to finish my career here I’d snap your hand off for it, I’ll be honest. So that’s the affiliation I feel with a club. I always go back to Chris saying that when you go to a football club, you want to leave it in a better state than you found it in and I think when the time comes to leave, hopefully Sheffield United will be in a better place than when I first signed. And all the memories will be part of the history.”

Norwood is out of contract at the end of the current season, after triggering an automatic extension last term with the amount of football he played, and is one of a number of current Blades facing an uncertain future while fighting to keep the club in the Premier League.

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A four-time promotion winner to the Premier League, and a member of the Northern Ireland side that played in France at Euro 2016, Norwood admitted he has not yet made plans for life after football – but would “love” the chance to pass on his experience by becoming a coach.

“You see these days that the game’s changing, how you speak to people and what’s right to say and what’s wrong to say,” Norwood added. “You’re scared to say something in case you offend people or offend a group, or this group or that group. You think sometimes people are waiting to trip you up.

“But I’d love to if I got the opportunity to pass on my experience in football and go into the coaching side. Because I think tactically I understand the game quite well. I’ve seen it all, pretty much, in the Premier League and internationally. If I could pass on that experience to help players on their journey then it’s definitely something I’d go into. I’d get kicked out of the house if I was at home every day, so I’d need to get out and do something!”

Ollie Norwood - One of Our Own is out now. Click here to watch on YouTube or download wherever you get your podcasts