Chris Wilder drops Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks update at Sheffield United - it may interest Everton | OneFootball

The Sheffield United manager has stated that the focus at the club now is on keeping hold of Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks past their current contract

Sheffield United's off-field focus for the remainder of the campaign is to tie down a couple of key assets who have 18 months remaining on their contracts, according to manager Chris Wilder.

The Sheffield Star has reported that the long-term future of breakout right-sided stars Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks is being considered in the coming weeks, following a manic final few days of the winter transfer window.

The Blades had to navigate a Saturday/Tuesday schedule to end January and bring in February due to their rearranged game against Oxford United, and sandwiched between that was deadline day, where Kalvin Phillips, Joe Rothwell and Leo Hjelde all joined the club.

Now, there's a much-needed week's break between games until the final week of the month, and with 18 months remaining on both Brooks and Seriki's contracts, and no reported indication of whether Sheffield United have an option to extend, the concern now is with extending those deals sooner rather than later.

Chris Wilder reveals "ongoing situation" surrounding Andre Brooks and Femi Seriki future

Seriki and Brooks, both 22, have enjoyed breakout years down Sheffield United's right side this season, with both already playing at least 500 more minutes in league action than last season, with still 16 games remaining.

Brooks especially has come into his own over the past few weeks, netting in the last three games to take his tally to a career-best four for the season.

But, both are out of contract at the end of the 2026/27 term, and could therefore walk away as free agents in 18 months, or perhaps agree a pre-contract agreement elsewhere to leave at the end of next season.

There was interest in the pair in the latter stages of the winter window - Premier League outfit Everton were reportedly tracking Seriki, whilst Club Brugge of Belgium's top flight had Brooks in their sights, but ultimately abandoned a pursuit as it was claimed to be too 'complicated' a deal.

Blades boss Chris Wilder confirmed to the Sheffield Star that their respective futures are on the agenda, and expects talks to be accelerated now that the winter transfer window has closed.

"I've not spoken to Steve [Bettis, Chief Exec at Sheffield United] about it since [last month], but it'll be an ongoing situation," he said.

"We had to prepare for that week, with Ipswich, Millwall and then Tuesday night against Oxford, with the focus on the transfer window as well.

"But now moving on, of course. Moving on to the other aspects of securing players and tying players down for longer is key. Key to protect the asset that the player has improved, but we have to as well."

The Blades lost key centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic in the summer for a somewhat cut-price of £7 million due mainly in part to the fact that the Bosnian was out of contract at the end of this season, and those at Sheffield United didn't want to chance losing him on a free.

The Blades will have learned their lesson and will be hoping to avoid a repeat with a couple of key assets one year later.

Tying down Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks is vital for Sheffield United's future

At the start of the season, the long-term futures of Brooks and Seriki wouldn't have been much of a talking point at Bramall Lane, after the pair were used largely from the bench in previous seasons.

However, the two have become quite a dynamic duo at Sheffield United, and the Blades will be hoping that they can be the staple of their right side for many years to come. Ultimately, though, that won't happen if neither is tied down to long-term deals in the coming months.

Not only are they both exciting young stars, but they're both indicative of the strong academy setup at Bramall Lane, especially Sheffield-born Brooks, who has been at the club since the age of eight.

There's not much better than seeing one of your academy players succeed, and, in a season that has had its fair share of ups and downs, the progression of Brooks and Seriki has been a rare, consistent bright spark.