Sheffield United Takeover: Shock contract U-turn as new ownership bid gathers pace

Sheffield United’s prospective new owners influenced the decision to perform a dramatic U-turn on the decision to keep Ben Osborn at Bramall Lane this summer, The Star understands. The midfielder was told before the end of the season that the option in his deal, to tie him to Bramall Lane for a further 12 months, would be exercised, with boss Chris Wilder also going public about keeping the utility man at United.

When Osborn left Bramall Lane on Sunday, after a final-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur that saw United fans say goodbye to five departing players, there was no indication that he would join them, wishing staff well for the summer and saying he would see them next season. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Osborn didn’t receive official confirmation of his option being taken up ahead of this week’s deadline - before being told it had been rescinded after intervention from United’s prospective buyers.

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The situation means that a Bramall Lane takeover is closer than initially believed, with the would-be new owners already having an influence behind the scenes. A US-based consortium is one party interested in buying the club from current owner Prince Abdullah, with interest from the Prince’s homeland in Saudi Arabia as well after he enlisted the renowned financial institution Lazard in a bid to find a buyer for the Blades following two failed deals with chequered businessmen from the United States and then Nigeria.

The news will be an understandable blow for a player whose future is now suddenly up in the air, weeks after being told he would be at Bramall Lane for another season at least, with both his versatility and character earmarked as valuable to the Blades ahead of their return to the Championship. The 29-year-old former Nottingham Forest man will become the sixth player to leave Bramall Lane on a free transfer this summer, following fellow promotion-winners Chris Basham, Ollie Norwood, George Baldock, Wes Foderingham and Max Lowe out of the exit door.