Double Sheffield United exit touted in January - 'I'm convinced his deal will be terminated' | OneFootball

Unsuccessful loan moves are predicted to be the focus of change at Sheffield United as the club seek to undo damage cause by a poor start to 2025-26.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With the January transfer window now just around the corner, Championship clubs will already be starting to make their plans for any squad tweaking that they feel necessary ahead of the second half of the season in what has so far proved to be an extremely competitive division.

One of the clubs that we can expect to have a busy window are Sheffield United.

Having sacked Chris Wilder at the end of the 2024-25 season following the Blades' unsuccessful assault on the play-offs, replaced him with Ruben Selles, and remodelled their squad around the new manager's needs, only to have a disastrous start to 2025-26, sack Selles and re-hire Wilder after the summer transfer window had closed, it's been a busy - and at times confusing - last six months for the South Yorkshire club.

Wilder seems to have turned a corner with his team. Four unbeaten games have lifted them out of the relegation places, and so congested is the middle of the table that a run for the play-offs still can't be ruled out.

"There's been a change in priorities and targets" - Sheffield United loanees predicted to leave in January

Football League World have spoken to our Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy about what he sees the Blades' January transfer business looking like, and he feels that the decision to replace Selles with Wilder will be all-important in the club's thinking: "With the manager change, there's been a change in priorities and targets, so the players that came in during the summer are just as vulnerable as the players who came in prior to the summer. So players like Tom Cannon, who'd I'd have said were nailed on to leave in January, have managed to force their way into Chris Wilder's plans somewhat."

And Jimmy believes that the players most at risk are two loanees whose spells at Bramall Lane haven't worked out as they would have hoped: "I think the more vulnerable to leave Sheffield United are those brought in by Ruben Selles, and I think we're talking about players like Louie Barry. I'm convinced his deal will be terminated. It's just not happened for him. I also think Tyler Bindon will be terminated as a loan signing, and we'll look to utilise those loan spots for players who can genuinely compete for a first team spot in other areas that we're now focusing."

Our Blades pundit doesn't feel that those who were at risk of leaving the club during the summer will be those at risk in the new year: "I don't think it's anybody that was on the cusp of leaving in the summer that will potentially leave in January. I think it's more a case of some of those players like Tom Cannon will most likely stay now, and some of Ruben Selles' signings will leave."

Sheffield United's 2025-26 so far has proved the risks of reactive decision-making

If nothing else, the moral of the story of Sheffield United's 2025 has been that sometimes it's more beneficial for a club to stick than twist, when it comes to switching managers. The Blades were in a near-impossible situation in the second half of 2024-25, with Leeds United and Burnley running up 100 points each at the top of the Championship table and occupying the two automatic promotion places.

Sheffield United overcame their play-off semi-final opponents Bristol City with ease, but at Wembley they were beaten by the narrowest of margins by Sunderland. But considering that the team ran up 90 points themselves the team performed well, and the decision to sack Chris Wilder and replace him with Ruben Selles - a head coach with an at best moderate record - felt perplexing, to say the least.

When coupled with the subsequent - and very necessary looking - decision to perform a complete turnaround by sacking Selles and bringing Wilder back may prove to be a costly one for the club. It's certainly fair to say that not all of the players brought in during the summer have worked out, and returning loanees to replace them would be an easy and sensible way of refreshing the squad for Chris Wilder's needs.

That Sheffield United are set to make loan changes in the new year has already been exclusively reported by Football League World. We revealed in November that the Blades are set to take drastic action over their loanees in the January transfer window, with Louie Barry, Tyler Bindon and Ben Godfrey all expected to have their loan deals terminated early.

Barry has had an extremely disappointing time of things since his loan move from Aston Villa. Barry has only made nine appearances for the Blades, of which six have been starts, and has failed to contribute any goals or assists, while his ratings for performances haven't been strong. He is highly rated, but this loan has looked like a failure.

If anything, Tyler Bindon's move to Bramall Lane from Nottingham Forest has gone even worse. He only started their first four games of the season under Selles, and hasn't featured for them at all since their 1-0 win at Middlesbrough at the end of August.

Ben Godfrey has been a similarly peripheral figure, having also only made four League appearances for the Blades, the last of which came in their 1-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic - Wilder's first match following his return - on the 20th September. He hasn't even made the bench since then.

Championship clubs only have five loan spots that they can use, and given the possibilities afforded by the plethora of young Premier League talent that could be sent out to get game-time throughout the second half of the season, clubs like Sheffield United simply cannot afford to have these places taken up by players who aren't getting anywhere near the starting eleven.

The other side of this coin has been that the return of Chris Wilder has been good news for others. Attacking midfielder Tom Cannon had been predicted to leave the club at the end of the summer transfer window, but instead he's been utilised as a squad player and has even scored a couple of goals for them. Rumours of his imminent departure from the club may well turn out to have been exaggerated.

Those who felt that Chris Wilder's sacking at the end of last season was misguided have been proved right so far by subsequent events. If anything, what we've witnessed at Bramall Lane since the end of last season has been proof that reactive decision-making isn't always wise.

But the January transfer window does offer one final shot at renewal for the 2025-26 season. If Sheffield United can be canny in the loan market, their season could yet be salvaged. And should they be able to make up that ten-point gap and somehow book themselves a play-off spot and a shot at a return to the Premier League, those calamitous first few weeks of the season will almost certainly be forgotten.