The truth behind Sheffield United’s £8m interest in Bobby Thomas at Coventry City | OneFootball

The Blades have been linked with the former Burnley centre-half in their pursuit of a replacement for Anel Ahmedhodzic.

Sheffield United face a battle against two Premier League clubs - Brentford and Burnley - to sign Coventry City defender Bobby Thomas.

The central defender was first linked with a move to Bramall Lane on Friday, when it was reported by Pete O'Rourke that an £8 million offer had been submitted for the 24-year-old.

Coventry City signed Thomas from Burnley two summers ago for a reported fee of £2 million. He has since gone on to become a key cog in Frank Lampard's squad, playing every minute of the current season.

O'Rourke then reported on Monday evening that the 24-year-old's former club, and fellow top-flight side Brentford, were also looking into a move for Thomas, providing the Blades with another centre-back headache.

Further details of Sheffield United's Bobby Thomas interest revealed

Ruben Selles has been left very short of options in this position ever since Anel Ahmedhodzic completed his move to Feyenoord earlier in the window. The club have been scrambling to try to bring in more players to replace the Bosnian, but have so far been unsuccessful.

United have invited former Brentford and Burnley centre-half Ben Mee to come and train with the club following his release from the Bees this summer, with a view to signing the 35-year-old soon, as per The Star.

The Sheffield outlet has now provided more information on the club's pursuit of Thomas. They have said that the Blades wouldn't want to spend the reported £8 million on the Coventry defender and indicated that their interest was at a lower fee. It had been reported by the BBC that a £5 million bid had been placed. Premier League interest in the United transfer target was also known by The Star.

Selles is set to lose out on one of his other reported centre-back targets to a Championship rival, with Wrexham on the verge of securing the permanent signing of Manchester City defender Callum Doyle.

Football League World exclusively revealed the Welsh side's interest in the former Coventry, Leicester City and Norwich City loanee. Wrexham are now set to pay £8 million, plus potential add-ons, to Man City for their academy product, as per The Athletic.

Sheffield United simply have to strengthen at centre-back before the transfer window shuts

The Blades weren't as defensively open in their 1-0 loss to Swansea City last weekend as they were in their first game of the new Championship campaign when they let in five goals at home to Bristol City. That said, Swansea still managed to create 1.34 expected goals and four shots on target to Selles side's zero.

Improvements are needed across the board, frankly, in the limited time that United have left to improve their team before Deadline Day on 1st September. If they are going to prioritise any position, it should be Thomas'.

They have such little depth there compared to the other areas on the pitch. At least up front, there are multiple options for Selles to turn to. When he looks back at his bench to see what defenders he could look to bring on, the options are sparse, to say the least.