Sheffield United's loan decision on exciting starlets as rivals eye Sydie Peck amid Chris Wilder claim
Sheffield United phone ringing ‘non-stop’ over young starlets as Chris Wilder opens up on transfer dilemma
Sheffield United will not risk leaving themselves short of numbers when they make decisions on whether to send out their promising young starlets on loan before next week’s transfer deadline. A number of clubs have already enquired about taking the likes of Louie Marsh and Sydie Peck on temporary deals, with neighbours Rotherham United keen on Peck.
But much will depend on how Wilder’s squad looks closer to the closure of the window, with the Blades also mindful that a big offer for at least one of their prized assets could still arrive late in the day. Ipswich Town are keen on Anel Ahmedhodzic while Gus Hamer, Ollie Arblaster and Vini Souza all have admirers, both at home and abroad.
In an ideal world United would probably sanction loan deals for the likes of Marsh and Peck, allowing them to develop elsewhere by playing first-team football. But as things stand they are parts of Wilder’s first-team squad and as such, the manager insists they won’t be “stifled” if they remain at Bramall Lane for the first part of the season.
“They're pushing,” Wilder said of the youngsters. “I ask them to push and they push, that's because of their character and how they've been brought up. They need to fight, just like the lads in the first team need to fight for the shirt. They need to keep pushing and pushing. One game doesn't make a career for them as well, they have to consistently produce that in training every day and when they get an opportunity, they have to take it.”
“They won't be stifled if they stay here,” added Wilder, ahead of this weekend’s trip to Norwich City. “They won't be. There's a pathway through and we need a strong squad. The balance is development but we're not a selling club. One that buys young players and works with them just to sell them on. There's been a situation with a couple of clubs in the Championship, where that's their mission objective, but we want to win. I want to win.
“I want to be successful and get the club out of the division and into the Premier League. When something comes along like Will Osula [and a £10m offer from Newcastle], we all have to sit down and say: ‘What happens now and where does this go?’ That's talked about above, but we're not here just to develop players. They've got to be good enough to come up to training, good enough to get into the first team and good enough to stay in. To be part of a group that wins games of football. We're here to win.”
That doesn’t mean, though, that Wilder has closed the door on potential loan departures for some of his most promising young players if it doesn’t risk leaving him short of numbers and options. “Close to the window shutting, if I look at it and go: ‘We’ve got cover there, and we’ve got him and him who can play there, then maybe the best case-case scenario is to pop him out on loan for six months.’
“The phone has been ringing non-stop over those young players and teams out of the Championship, League One and League Two want to take a few, which is great. It's part and parcel of them playing well and being involved with us.”