Revealed: The clause that could keep Chris Basham at Sheffield United as defender admits his future could be decided in January

The defender, whose deal is set to expire at the end of the season, has made only four league starts for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side this term with John Egan and the on-loan Ben Davies emerging as the Serb’s first choice pairing at centre-half.

Although remaining in South Yorkshire would be his preferred option, Basham acknowledged he could be forced to consider ending his near eight year stay at the club unless greater opportunities are forthcoming.

If they are, there is a possibility it could automatically trigger a 12 month extension inserted into the agreement he signed at the beginning of last term before United’s relegation from the Premier League.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s visit to Barnsley, Basham told The Star: “I think with my contract, I’ve got a ‘plus one’.

“If I make a set amount of appearances, that gets activated. If those don’t happen it’s up to the club if they want to carry forward or if they want to see the end of me.

“If I’m not playing then I can't see the club wanting me. It’s down to the club and the manager so, depending on what happens, I’ll sit down and talk about it with my agent and whoever looks after me in January and February.”

A member of the United squads which gained promotion from League One and the Championship before finishing ninth in the top-flight two seasons ago, Basham, aged 33, is the highest profile victim of Jokanovic’s decision to switch to a back four rather than the three employed by his predecessor Chris Wilder.

Despite that, Basham does not hold a grudge towards Jokanovic - instead insisting he “deserves” success due to his work behind the scenes.

“No, I definitely don’t and I say that because of the way he’s come in and how intent he is on getting us to do well,” Basham continued. “He’s got a great staff too and I want to see all of the lads who have come in do well for this club. The all deserve it, they don’t deserve to have a season that just passes us by. The same goes for Billy (Sharp) who is captain and done so much here, him and a load of other lads. We’ve still got a great togetherness.”

Although Basham accepted he is frustrated by his lack of action in recent weeks- “If you’re not, then you shouldn’t be a footballer” - he insisted he will do everything within his power to help Jokanovic and his colleagues lift United up the table after they slipped to 17th following the latest round of games.

“The most important thing from the manager’s point of view is that you don’t show frustration if you are not involved,” Basham said. “He knows I’ll give everything in the dressing room. Before a game, I’ll have a little chat. And I’ve got my good mates at the back. Eges (John Egan) is doing great, captain for his country and (Ben) Davies is doing well since coming in on loan. So I can’t really complain about that.”