Football League World
·20 May 2024
£2.5m signing set for Sheffield United exit
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Football League World
·20 May 2024
Sheffield United will let goalkeeper Ivo Grbic leave the club in the summer if appropriate proposals are made for him, just months on from his arrival in Yorkshire.
The Blades' miserable stint in the Premier League officially ended on Sunday afternoon, with their departing memory of the league being a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
Problems have occurred all over the pitch for United, but at the back is where they have really been caught short. They let in 104 goals across the campaign, the most ever conceded by a Premier League side, at a rate of over 2.7 per game.
These frailties have not been helped by the uncertainty that has come from the goalkeeping position, with manager Chris Wilder seemingly not convinced by any of his options.
In light of this glaring weakness, the club have reportedly made a big decision on the future of their former Atlético Madrid goalkeeper, Grbic.
The Star has reported that United will try and recoup their money after deciding that the Croatian is not the man for them between the sticks.
They agreed a £2.5 million with Atlético for the ex-backup to Jan Oblak in the winter transfer window, but, after his dismal time at Bramall Lane, which ended up with Wes Foderingham back in net after being dropped for Grbic upon his arrival, they have come to the conclusion that it's best for them to cut their losses with the 28-year-old.
The shot-stopper wasn't even included in Wilder's squad for the final game of the season.
Foderingham is also set to leave the club upon the expiry of his deal with the Blades at the end of June, leaving Sheffield very short between the sticks.
The United boss insisted that he and his team had done their: "due diligence," on the player before signing him, as per the Star.
"We did our homework on him. It was a situation where we all, supporters as well, talked about it," said Wilder.
"We needed strength in that department, competition and whatever. We did due diligence on it, it's just unfortunate that it's not gone as well as all of us would have liked it to have gone."
Grbic isn't expected to be the only departure of the summer. Anis Slimane, Benie Traore and Ismaila Coulibaly are all said to be on the chopping block.
Anel Ahmedhodzic and Vini Souza are two of their players that are likely to be wanted by other clubs, and journalist Alan Nixon has reported that they too will be made available.
Anthony Patterson, Sunderland's number one, is a player that United are expected to make moves for in the summer. Nixon believes that they will offer £8 million for the Black Cats' academy graduate.
After such a calamitous season, it is hard to look at the state of play at Brammal Lane and think 'Yeah, a few adjustments and additions should be enough'.
It was bad enough that their destiny felt like it was set in stone before a ball had even been kicked, after selling Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge, but now they have the painstaking task of turning the fortunes of this team around; that won't be achieved by continuing along the same path.
Clubs like Burnley, although it didn't work out successfully for them this season, have used relegation as a chance to reset and alter the trajectory of the club. All three of the relegated clubs from the 22/23 Premier League campaign did it too, and two of the three are going to come straight back up.
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