Exclusive:Sheffield United transfer move thwarted as Premier League club make clear stance over Blades target
Sheffield United transfer move thwarted as Premier League club make clear stance over Blades target
With the arrivals of Ben Brereton Diaz, Tom Cannon and Hamza Choudhury, Sheffield United have completed their winter business in the forward and midfield areas of the pitch. Now, with less than a week to go until the January window slams firmly shut, their attention turns to the backline.
A couple of their centre-half targets are already known, with Jimmy Dunne of QPR a player of interest while we revealed on Tuesday that Swansea City man Harry Darling is also under consideration ahead of his contract expiring in the summer. But United are not just casting their net across the Championship as they search for a replacement for injured Leicester City man Harry Souttar for the second part of the season.
We understand that commanding Ipswich Town defender Luke Woolfenden was also on United’s radar this window, with his 6ft 4in stature certainly filling the void left behind by Souttar’s Achilles’ injury. The Portman Road academy product has been a part of Kieran McKenna’s squad in the Premier League and has made 10 appearances so far this season, but was absent from the matchday squads for Town’s last two games.
Ipswich are well-stocked in the centre-half department with Woolfenden competing with Jacob Greaves, Dara O’Shea, Cameron Burgess and new signing Ben Godfrey for a place in McKenna’s side. But they are fighting for their lives in the Premier League, sitting second-bottom after back-to-back heavy defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Liverpool, and The Star has been told that Ipswich will keep Woolfenden in Suffolk ahead of a crucial second half of the season.
The 26-year-old is facing an uncertain future beyond then, however, with his contract set to expire this summer. Ipswich are thought to have an option in their favour to extend it by a further year, but much may depend on their divisional status and other options in that department.