Sheffield United: Senegal's Iliman Ndiaye, the World Cup and one big decision to make

Although their client’s contract still has two years left to run, Ndiaye’s representatives appear to have little incentive to extend its terms ahead of the January transfer window after being invited to discuss an improved deal by Paul Heckingbottom. Indeed, with the 22-year-old’s value only likely to improve following his visit to Qatar, where Aliou Cisse’s side ope ned their Group B campaign with a defeat by Holland, independent sources within the agency sphere have told The Star it would actually make “better business sense” for his advisors not to quickly reach agreement with United even if he remains at Bramall Lane during the second-half of the campaign.

“The less time on it, the more the ball is in their court,” one explained last night. “He’s someone there’s bound to be interest in and so his club will obviously want to get something done. But because he’s such an important player, there’s no rush. If he stays, whatever he gets is going to have to reflect that. If nothing gets done, then his value is going to get recognised in anything else he signs going forward. That’s the way the market is. That’s how things work.”

The obvious clues

Clearly, with United taking out a number of facilities with an Australian bank, Heckingbottom’s employers do not have access to significant reserves of cash despite spending two of the past four seasons operating at Premier League level. Anel Ahmedhodzic, a £3m capture from Malmo, was the only permanent new addition to his team over the summer. Coaching staff privately feared Sander Berge would be sold at the beginning of the new campaign; a belief which, although they would publicly deny, was almost certainly reflected by the arrival of fellow midfielders James McAtee, Tommy Doyle and Reda Khadra on loan. The latter, despite being repeatedly backed by Heckingbottom, has played only 20 percent of the minutes available to him since August and is struggling to forge a meaningful role in United’s plans.

Berge, much to Heckingbottom’s relief, eventually remained in South Yorkshire before suffering the injury which has forced him to miss United’s last nine outings. Despite reports to the contrary, Berge is understood to be relaxed about the prospect of staying at the club and trying to help them regain top-flight status. But the fact his suitors, which included Club Brugge and Chelsea, were not prepared to meet United’s asking price stemmed from their belief that a sale was in the best financial interests of his team’s hierarchy. Impressively, owner HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud eventually refused to accept either of their proposals - the one from Stamford Bridge revolved around a loan - after Heckingbottom had warned about the detrimental effect it would have had upon his plans. But it is unlikely the former Barnsley, Leeds and Hibernian chief would have voiced his concerns so loudly had he not been worried Berge might leave. Preferring diplomacy to the more forthright bargaining tactics adopted by his predecessors Chris Wilder and Slavisa Jokanovic during their dealings with directors, Heckingbottom’s comments on the issue were designed to apply subtle pressure on United’s board.

Timing is everything

The awkward situation they have found themselves in regarding Ndiaye’s medium and long term future is not entirely of United’s own making. After scoring nine goals already this term, helping them reach second in the Championship table, it was inevitable his name would feature on the watch-lists of some of the country’s leading outfits.

However, it would be remiss not to point out that United could also have done some things better with regards to Ndiaye. His contractual situation should have been revisited over the summer, when it became apparent he was Morgan Gibbs-White’s heir apparent. By making Ndiaye an offer then, before he became one of the most talked about players in the English Football League, United would have provided their investment in his talent with a greater degree of protection. And, one suspects, his representatives would have been more inclined to accept. Instead, the situation has been allowed to drift with 16 of Ndiaye’s colleagues preparing to become free agents.

Timing is everything. In football as well as comedy.

The possible solutions

Given that his terms were last improved 14 months ago, when Jokanovic sliced through the politicking which has threatened to impede his development, Ndiaye’s present salary is almost certainly towards the lower end of United’s payroll. One potential solution to the impasse which appears to have developed could be to table a significant increase and insert a predetermined release clause into the paperwork. But this would weaken United’s bargaining position, with those tasked with overseeing Ndiaye’s career only likely to accept it that was set way below his true market value.

Ndiaye did not feature for Senegal during their clash with Louis van Gaal’s side, watching from the bench as late strikes from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen propelled the Dutch to victory. The result increases the possibility, should they qualify, that the reigning African champions could face England in the knockout stages after their 6-2 thrashing of Iran saw them seize control of Group A.

With United also well placed to challenge for promotion, Heckingbottom will use the leverage recent results have given him to argue that, even if a huge offer is received for Ndiaye after Christmas, it makes little sense to accept now. Should United go up and then make an encouraging start to life back among the game’s elite, it could also increase the possibility that Ndiaye is encouraged to put pen to paper on a new deal.