Sheffield United must accelerate Hull City transfer pursuit - Vini Souza is set for Bramall Lane exit | OneFootball

Vinicius Souza is set to leave Sheffield United, and that means the Blades should accelerate in a move for Hull City's Steven Alzate.

As they try and build a squad once again capable of challenging for promotion in the Championship next season, Sheffield United should step up their pursuit of versatile Hull City midfielder Steven Alzate.

The Blades missed out on automatic promotion last season due to something of a collapse in the final month of the campaign, before they then suffered a dramatic 2-1 loss to Sunderland in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium in a game in which they had been leading.

Chris Wilder has since departed Bramall Lane for a second time and he has been replaced by former Hull and Reading boss Ruben Selles, who left the Tigers this summer, having kept them up in the second-tier on the final day of the season.

United are bracing themselves for a busy summer, and there is interest in a lot of key players, but the departure of Vinicius Souza to Wolfsburg now appears imminent, and that must surely accelerate their incoming business.

Sheffield United must press on with Steven Alzate interest

It has been reported that United are interested in bringing former Brighton and Hove Albion man Alzate across Yorkshire from Hull to Sheffield this summer, following his former manager Selles.

Camden-born Alzate, who has seven caps for the Colombia national team, began his career at Leyton Orient before moving to Brighton at the age of 18 and then going on to play 51 times for the Seagulls.

After a couple of seasons out on loan at Standard Liege, Alzate finally left Brighton on a permanent basis last summer, and enjoyed a hugely impressive 24/25 season at the MKM Stadium after being signed as a free agent.

Widely viewed as a rare bright spark in an otherwise fairly dismal campaign for City, Alzate has shown signs of fulfilling the potential he had displayed whilst at Brighton with the Tigers.

The 26-year-old came through at Brighton with an ability to get forward, before adapting his game into becoming more of an all-rounder.

Now after top-flight experience with Standard as well as the high-pressure situation at Hull last year, he has emerged as an excellent, reliable and hard-working all-action, but primarily defensive, midfielder.

As such, he would appear an ideal candidate to replace what Vini Souza has brought to Bramall Lane in the last couple of years, with a similarly impressive level of technical ability mixed in with the industry required for the Championship.

Sheffield United will want to act fast to secure Alzate's signature

The impending loss of Souza, whilst deflating for Blades supporters, may not be their biggest departure this summer, with key players such as Michael Cooper and Gustavo Hamer both linked with moves away.

Cooper and Hamer, who are both the subject of interest from the Premier League, were arguably United’s standout players last season alongside Souza, so losing all three would be a mighty blow.

That is what makes it even more imperative that United can get a deal for Alzate over the line as quickly as possible, in order to ensure the squad is replenished in time to gel during pre-season ahead of a vital 2025/26 campaign.

Alzate’s relationship with Selles therefore takes on even more importance, with the manager not necessarily requiring time to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the player.

His likely ability to settle immediately will be crucial, and United must act fast to avoid further unwanted disruption in what is turning out to be a summer of upheaval in South Yorkshire.