Sheffield United "pretty close" to contract breakthrough with key starlet amid Chris Wilder's fitness hope

Sheffield United are “pretty close” to a breakthrough in their long-time quest to tie down Daniel Jebbison to a new contract, manager Chris Wilder has revealed. The 20-year-old is one of 18 players who could walk away from Bramall Lane in the summer, as things stand.

An England youth international, Jebbison has not played all season due to a combination of a blood clot sustained in pre-season, suffered after a routine blood test, and subsequent fitness issues. But Wilder first revealed earlier this year that Jebbison had told him he sees his future at Bramall Lane, despite some senior officials expecting the striker to walk away this summer and continue his journey elsewhere.

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A perceived lack of progress in the months since has seen some Blades fans concerned that Jebbison could still leave this summer but speaking ahead of this weekend’s trip to Brentford, boss Wilder confirmed that discussions are still taking place.

“We're pretty close, we feel,” he said. “We're very positive that we can come to some sort of agreement with Dan. It's taken its time, obviously he’s been out injured for quite a while. But he’s making progress. He’s one of the players that hopefully we'll see before the end of the season.

“It’ll be good for him to get back and hopefully with that, we'll have the contract wrapped up and he’ll be a Sheffield United player and hopefully one that we can put away and be happy that we’ve sorted his deal out. It’s positive signs, and hopefully we’ll have some good news soon.”