Football League World
·13 August 2024
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·13 August 2024
Sheffield United and QPR are competing with Aberdeen for a 26-year-old forward option this summer
Sheffield United and QPR face pressure from Aberdeen in the race to sign St. Johnstone’s Adama Sidibeh this summer.
According to Football Insider, the two clubs are expected to send scouts to watch his upcoming performance against Rangers this weekend.
However, he may not be in the squad for that fixture after all due to Aberdeen’s readiness to trigger his release clause.
This could force the second division sides into action earlier than they would like in the race to sign the player before the end of the window.
The 26-year-old is attracting interest from a host of sides coming up to the 30 August transfer deadline.
Aberdeen are reportedly ready to activate the release clause in Sidibeh’s contract, meaning he may not be in action on Saturday for St. Johnstone in the Scottish League Cup.
The release clause is believed to be worth £500,000, meaning that St. Johnstone will be unable to hold onto him whatever they do.
This could spring Sheffield United and QPR into action, as they could also trigger that fee to try and persuade him to move to English football instead.
The Gambia international only signed for the Scottish Premiership side last January, and bagged five goals from 15 appearances in the previous campaign (all stats from Fbref).
The forward added to his growing reputation last weekend when he scored a brace in the team’s 3-0 away win against Kilmarnock on Sunday.
This performance has proven enough for Aberdeen, with the Premiership rivals planning to activate his release clause prior to this weekend’s club clash with Rangers.
It remains to be seen whether Sheffield United or QPR will also activate his release clause, or if Aberdeen have done enough to steal a march on their rivals to his signature.
Aberdeen are looking to strengthen their forward options following their agreement with Girona to sell Bojan Miovski to Girona for £6.8 million, according to Sky Sports.
Kieffer Moore started for Chris Wilder’s side last Friday night as Sheffield United won 2-0 away to Preston North End.
The Welshman is a new signing at Bramall Lane, and has competition for game time from Tyrese Campbell and Rhian Brewster.
Meanwhile, QPR have the likes of Zan Celar, Lyndon Dykes and Michael Frey to choose from as forward options this season.
Next up for the two Championship rivals is a clash against each other this Saturday at Bramall Lane in a 3pm kick-off.
While Sheffield United and QPR have existing forward options, the Gambia international could be a cheap way to add some competition for game time for this season.
A release clause makes negotiating a relatively straightforward process, but they will still need to put forward a strong package to sway the 26-year-old from moving to Aberdeen.
It also remains to be seen what the player’s preference would be at this stage, and Sheffield United and QPR will need to put forward offers to even have a chance at signing him.