Sontje Hansen: Sheffield United's transfer stance on former Ajax starlet after €3.5m bid reports

The January transfer window is not even a week old and already Sheffield United have been linked with a number of players as manager Chris Wilder looks to bolster his depleted squad for the second part of what he hopes will be a promotion-winning season. The Blades’ recruitment team have long finalised their list of targets, with contact made and hope that a breakthrough will be secured soon.

Ben Brereton Diaz remains United’s main target of this window while, as we revealed recently, Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury is another player of interest. United have since been linked with Lewis Koumas, the son of former EFL favourite Jason, and speculation about a move for Aston Villa’s Louie Barry continues.

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A more intriguing link emerged from the Netherlands recently with a report that United have made an offer of €3.5m for former Ajax winger Sontje Hansen, now plying his trade for NEC Nijmegen. Hansen signed for NEC from Ajax in 2023 and has scored five goals and registered one assist as one of the standouts in a disappointing collective season overall.

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The report, from SoccerNews, also lists RC Lens as admirers of Hansen but adds that the French side “have to complete an outgoing transfer... Sheffield United has already done that.” The only player United have lost this window is midfielder Ismaila Coulibaly, who moved to Austria on a permanent deal for a nominal transfer fee that could net the Blades further add-on payments down the line.

The Star understands that Hansen is not a player on the Blades’ radar as things stand and that no bid has been lodged for his services. Their priority remains a left-sided forward and a player capable of covering up front, along with a midfielder and potentially a defender to help cover the void left by Harry Souttar’s return to Leicester City after a snapped Achilles ended his season prematurely.