Sheffield United keeping tabs on familiar face amid contract uncertainty, potential Hull City “discount” transfer deal
With key midfield decisions already made, Sheffield United are turning their attention to potential additions - and a familiar option is on the Blades’ radar
Four games still separate Sheffield United and the long-awaited end of a season that will not live long in the memories of Blades fans, but the rumour mill is cranking up steadily ahead of what could be one of the busiest summers in years at Bramall Lane. United have already tied up a few loose ends in their midfield department.
Tom Davies will leave the Blades when his contract runs out in the summer, they confirmed earlier this week, while we reported this morning that the option in Jairo Riedewald’s contract will be taken up, tying him to United for another 12 months after his impressive start to life at the Lane.
With Riedewald and Joe Rothwell under contract, and Oliver Arblaster and Sydie Peck also in the United engine room. the Blades are relatively well stocked in that department. Jamie Shackleton, who will enter the final year of his deal this summer, is another versatile option capable of filling in elsewhere once he regains fitness.
Sheffield United keeping tabs on familiar face amid contract uncertainty, potential Hull City “discount” transfer deal
The Blades would also be keen to see Kalvin Phillips return on another loan deal from Manchester City next term, but they have a long list of potential options and have monitored another familiar face for a while now in the shape of former midfielder Regan Slater.
Now 26, Slater has matured into a good Championship operator since leaving his boyhood club for Hull City back in 2022, for a nominal fee thought to be in the region of £50,000. Hull recently took up their option to extend his deal by another year, with the player recently admitting he had not been offered a longer-term deal.
He will not be the only Championship player with just over a year left on his deal that United’s recruitment staff are monitoring, as they prepare for a key summer which will see manager Chris Wilder look to reset the culture of United both on and off the pitch after an underwhelming 2025/26 campaign, to say the least.
Intriguingly, if they did ever firm up their interest in Slater, United also could get a discount on the deal having inserted a sell-on clause - reported in this newspaper at the time to be 20 per cent - into the deal that took Slater to East Yorkshire four years ago.
Slater missed his side’s defeat at Bramall Lane on Saturday through injury but boss Wilder admitted on the eve of it: “I keep an eye on all the players that have been with us. Ben Whiteman [now at Preston North End], Regan Slater. All those guys.
“Brooksy [Bournemouth’s David Brooks], Aaron Ramsdale [Newcastle United]. All the boys who have been on the journey. I think when they leave, they always feel that they've been part of it as well. They'll always feel a part of being what a Sheffield United player looks like and should be.
“There might be some out there, but I don't think any of them have really got a bad word to say in terms of how they've been treated and how they've enjoyed their football while they were with us. And that's what I need to get back to, and reset that ... to have the new Oli McBurnies and John Egans to talk about in the future.”