Sheffield United's stance as £10m-linked forgotten man "pushes to leave" in January transfer window

Reports in Sweden this week have suggested that Ismaila Coulibaly is "pushing to leave" Sheffield United in the upcoming transfer window - and the Blades are unlikely to stand in his way if AIK firm up their interest in the Malian midfielder with a firm approach. Coulibaly, who turns 23 on Christmas Day, is out of contract at Bramall Lane at the end of the season.

Signed from Sarpsborg 08 in 2020 as a United World project, Coulibaly has spent much of his time contracted to the Blades out on loan with their sister club Beerschot. After arriving at Bramall Lane following Beerschot's relegation, over concerns that their demotion would affect his work permit eligibility, he has only been seen briefly, with the last of his seven appearances coming in United's League Cup penalty shootout defeat to Lincoln City earlier this season.

Fotboll Direkt have reported that AIK are keen on Coulibaly, who is "pushing to leave" Bramall Lane - with a meeting reportedly planned this week to further explore the possibility of a transfer. With Coulibaly approaching the final six months of his contract, there is a possibility of him signing a pre-contract agreement in January to move abroad in the summer on a free transfer.

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Alternatively, United could negotiate a lower transfer fee to sell Coulibaly in January - which would have obvious advantages for AIK, whose Allsvenskan season is scheduled to start in March and run until November. That would also obviously be beneficial for the Blades, whose boss Chris Wilder has already signalled his intention to "wheel and deal" in the January transfer window and who could use any funds - and the space in United's 25-man Premier League squad - to bring in a player more capable of challenging for a place on his matchday teamsheet.

A series of impressive displays with Beerschot saw Coulibaly linked with big-money moves to some top European clubs, with the likes of AC Milan and Galatasaray credited with apparently £10m interest in the youngster before he returned to Bramall Lane, where he was handed a 12-month contract extension in the summer following the Blades' promotion to the Premier League.