Ruben Selles makes somewhat surprising Ivo Grbic revelation at Sheffield United | OneFootball

Life at Bramall Lane hasn't been easy for Grbic since he came over from the Spanish capital.

Ruben Selles has insisted that out-of-favour goalkeeper Ivo Grbic will be given an opportunity to impress him and his coaching staff in pre-season.

The Croatian's Blades career has been a non-starter ever since he made the switch from Atlético Madrid to the red half of the Steel City. He has made 10 total first-team appearances since joining the club in January 2024, none of which came in the previous Championship campaign.

United went and bought Michael Cooper from Plymouth Argyle, rather than relying on Grbic to be between the sticks for them. Instead, he was loaned out to Turkish side Caykur Rizespor.

Ivo Grbic to be given a chance by Ruben Selles

Heading into this pre-season, Selles had four shot-stoppers to keep an eye on. Veteran glovesman Adam Davies featured for half of the Blades' 6-2 win over York City, with Cooper sharing the minutes with the Welshman. Youngster Luke Faxon, 20, was on the bench, while Grbic wasn't involved at all.

That, however, is not indicative of the new boss' thoughts on the 29-year-old, who has impressed Selles so far this offseason.

"Right now, we have four goalkeepers, and we picked Coops and Adam today [against York] to play. So he [Grbic] will be part of the rotation and it has to be like that," said the Spaniard, via The Star.

"There have been some conversations about his situation at the club but I must say, he has been brilliant in the dressing room and in training. And if everything goes according to the things we have been doing, he will get his chance in this pre-season."

Even though the boss is happy with the current situation and options available to him in net, he has admitted that something will have to give. There's only space for two keepers in any matchday squad, unless he wants to crowbar the spare one or two in for the sake of it.

So, rather than having two players who have little prospect of minutes, a decision will be made on which of the quartet may move away from Bramall Lane this summer.

"We have the decision [to make] which we will communicate in the proper time. But let’s see what happens in pre-season and in the coming future."

Sheffield United need to make strong goalkeeping decision

It'd be wrong of the Blades to keep four shot-stoppers in the first-team squad when, unless major injuries occur, half of them probably aren't going to get much of a sniff of any on-pitch action.

It'll most likely be between Grbic and Paxon for who is the one that doesn't spend at least a portion of next season with the Blades. If it is, the decision may come down to how much future value they can get out of either of them.

The Croatian still has a couple of year left on his deal but isn't likely to be a part of the club's plans after then. Paxon has the potential to grow into a keeper that could serve to benefit United in the future, but would he be better off on loan lower down the footballing pyramid or surrounded by Cooper, Davies and the club's coaching team?