Sheffield United and Millwall must be regretting Spurs transfer miss already | OneFootball

Alfie Devine has already proven to be an important asset on loan for Preston North End

Sheffield United and Millwall may already have started to regret missing out on Tottenham Hotspur loanee Alfie Devine, who is flying for a rival club in the Championship.

Both clubs were linked with a temporary move for the Premier League youngster, but he instead wound up at Preston North End.

He’s off to a strong start with the Lilywhites, having already opened his account from midfield by scoring twice against Leicester City and Derby County.

With Preston sitting in the play-off spots in the early stages of the Championship, thanks in no small part to Devine, and the Blades dead last in the table, the latter may well be wishing they’d got the loan move over the line.

Sheffield United and Millwall were both in for Alfie Devine this summer

According to The Mirror, both the Blades and Millwall were considering a move for the Tottenham youngster over the summer.

There was also believed to be some interest from Wrexham, but it was Preston who swooped in past their Championship rivals to land Devine.

The Blades, based on a report from The Star, were considering moves for Spurs pair Devine and Ashley Phillips, but landed neither, with the latter ending up with a temporary return move to Stoke City, who have also started the season well.

For the Yorkshire side in particular, they may be regretting the duo slipped through their fingers. The Blades likely felt that with the likes of Callum O'Hare, Ollie Arblaster, Sydie Peck and Gus Hamer at their disposal, a player like Devine, who can operate from front to back in the middle of the park, was not a priority.

What the powers-that-be at Bramall Lane maybe had not factored into that equation was the underperforming nature of the squad they'd built, along with a difficult start to the season for talisman Hamer.

The Dutchman, at this point last season, already had four goals and an assist to his name. This term, in the Championship, he has little other than four yellow cards to show for his efforts.

The Blades bad start cannot be pinned squarely on him, and he remains their best route out of their current problem, but Devine at Preston is having exactly the hit-the-ground-running campaign that United fans are used to seeing from a player like Hamer, a player who can grab a game by the scruff of the neck when the chips are down.

Millwall may have less immediate regret thanks to positive starts to the new campaign for the likes of Massimo Luongo and Luke Cundle in the middle of the park, the latter of whom already has a goal himself, whilst Will Smallbone was also signed from Southampton on deadline day - time will tell as to how he does at The Den, but he'll do well to be as impressive as Devine has been in his first few games.

Alfie Devine has hit the ground running this season for Preston North End

Having made a 15-minute cameo for Preston in the first game of the season against Queens Park Rangers, Devine required just seven minutes of his second outing, against Leicester City, to open his account for the campaign.

He added another a few games later against Derby County, becoming a key part of Paul Heckingbottom’s midfield in this early part of the season, with four starts in the club’s first six games.

The one game he missed, against Portsmouth, is so far Preston’s only league loss of the season, potentially a sign that they were missing his presence in the middle.

With the Blades having had him under consideration, and currently sitting last, with no points on the board and just one goal to their name, it would be understandable that they could be regretting not pursuing Devine further.

Preston North End may already be looking ahead to the future

In Devine’s profile on the Preston website, the club confirmed that they hold an option to buy on the midfielder following his current season-long loan.

Our Preston fan pundit, Darren Watson, believes his club should “break the bank” to action that clause, but holds doubts over whether that’s going to be possible.

“Looking at our current owner and their situation with money and how they like to put money into the club,” Watson added, “is that going to be a realistic option?

“I would love us to keep Alfie Devine because he’s only going to get better, and he’s thriving in this squad under Paul Heckingbottom, and he’s proving that game after game after game.”

Given the start he’s made to life at Preston, they will surely do all they can to try and keep him at the club, should he maintain his form.