'A real shocker' - Sheffield United decision sparks Bramall Lane fan surprise | OneFootball

FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit has commented on the Blades’ decision to release Jairo Riedewald.

Sheffield United will be preparing plans for the 2026-27 Championship campaign, hopeful of putting a rather dismal previous one behind them.

The Blades started off the 2025-26 term in worrying fashion by occupying the foot of the table under former Hull City boss Ruben Selles, with Chris Wilder returning to the club to help push them away from the relegation mire.

While they achieved that, the Yorkshire outfit failed to kick on any further under his guidance, still showing worrying inconsistencies, which resulted in the club securing a mediocre 13th-placed finish.

The club will now find it even tougher to get back to the top end of the Championship standings due to the loss of parachute payments by the Premier League, with the club preparing for a rebuild this summer.

In preparation to put their squad together, the Yorkshire outfit confirmed their released and retained list this week, announcing Tom Davies, Danny Ings and Ben Mee would all be departing the Steel City.

But a fourth and surprise exit on the list was Jairo Riedewald, who arrived last October and had a major impact on the Blades team under Wilder.

Blades supporters are bound to be perplexed as the club were believed to have held the option of extending the 29-year-old’s contract by an extra 12 months, but for some reason, they have elected against it.

It means the Dutchman will be available as a free agent heading into the summer transfer window and may well be the target of numerous Championship clubs given his exploits at Bramall Lane.

With this in mind, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit has commented on Riedewald’s departure and assessed whether the Blades have made the correct decision.

Sheffield United, Jairo Riedewald exit labelled a ‘real shocker’

Speaking to Football League World, Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy (AKA Blades Ramble) has branded Jairo Riedewald’s exit from Sheffield United as a ‘real shocker’, revealing he is interested to see how Chris Wilder will replace the loss of such an impressive performer.

Jimmy told FLW: “Tom Davies, we knew about. No shock as it had already been announced that Tom Davies would be leaving.

“Danny Ings and Ben Mee, again no real shock. I think Ben Mee had announced he was leaving as well prior to the formal announcement of the retained list.

“The one that’s shocked the fanbase is Jairo Riedewald. Yes, he’s an expensive player, but he was an integral part of the first team.

“I’m not sure whether the fact he very rarely completed 90 minutes will have played a part in this. We’ve talked about a more robust side being needed heading into the new season, but it’s still a real shocker as we’ve had an option to extend him by a year and chosen not to.

“I’m really keen to see what Wilder’s plans are going forward now. In Wilder, we trust, and let’s just see if we can get a suitable replacement in for the centre of midfield.”

Jairo Riedewald exit is a bitter blow to Sheffield United

Jairo Riedewald proved to be such a shrewd signing for Sheffield United, becoming a crucial figure to help turn the tide under Chris Wilder after such a poor start, so his departure will come as a real blow to all connected with the Blades.

It’s unclear the reasoning behind his exit, but it could well have something to do with the implementation of a Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) framework for next season, with the system limiting the level of spending on players and managers to a percentage of their income.

Therefore, it may mean that the Blades were unable to afford his wages, which are believed to be sitting at £25,000 per week, according to an estimate made by Capology.

This is unfortunately the reality that Sheffield United find themselves in by not having additional funding from the Premier League, with the club now needing to find cheaper gems that can hit the ground running in order to have a chance of returning to the big time.

Any promotion push next season has taken a tremendous hit by not having Riedewald on their books though, with huge pressure now on the recruitment team to find a midfielder on the cheap who can do as good a job as the Dutchman managed to.