Why Sheffield United cut short Luke Thomas loan spell as defender makes Middlesbrough transfer move

Sheffield United considered both footballing and financial aspects before cutting short Luke Thomas's loan spell earlier this month, with the defender subsequently moving to Middlesbrough earlier today. The 22-year-old played 13 times for the Blades before returning to Leicester City following the early termination of his temporary spell at Bramall Lane.

Thomas was signed by Chris Wilder's predecessor Paul Heckingbottom in the summer after a spate of injuries left loanee Yasser Larouci as United's only fit and senior left wing-back. Since then Rhys Norrington-Davies has returned from a long-term injury while Auston Trusty has played left-back admirably since Wilder's return to the club, with Max Lowe returning from injury and Ben Osborn and Jack Robinson other options in that area.

With Wilder keen to recruit another centre-half before next Thursday's transfer deadline, United have also freed up what could be a valuable domestic loan slot. As a Premier League side, they are only allowed to sign two players at any one time on temporary deals from an English club. Thomas will link up with Wilder's former club for the second half of the season, with their current boss Michael Carrick saying: “We’re delighted to bring Luke to the club. He’s a good addition to the squad, he has plenty of experience, and he will bring a balance to what we have. We’re looking forward to working with him.”

Thomas's final United appearance was in a 4-0 FA Cup third-round win at Gillingham, which set up this weekend's fourth-round clash at home to Brighton. "He did a good job for us," said Wilder. "But we had Max Lowe coming back and Rhys coming back. We're positive he'll be okay with how he's trained and the advice we've had from the medical department.

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"We've got cover and it freed up a couple of quid for us to move around, and it freed a domestic loan up for us as well, which we felt was important with the competition and cover that we've got. Ben has played in that position, Trusty has played left-back for us as well, and Rhys can play left-back. Robbo can at a push as well. So we have plenty of cover in that position. I thank Luke for his efforts and I'm sure he'll kick on with his career."