Sheffield United player closing in on departure amid FC Basel interest | OneFootball

Benie Traore looks set to leave the Steel City after just one year

Sheffield United look set to part ways with young forward Benie Traore, just one year after he joined the Steel City outfit.

That's according to a report from local publication the Sheffield Star on Saturday morning, who claim that the 21-year-old's stay at Bramall Lane is approaching its "final days" amid interest from clubs on the continent.

United's rebuilding job following relegation from the Premier League has been well-documented amid ongoing takeover talks whilst the summer transfer window continues to gather momentum leading up to the start of the Championship season in three weeks' time.

Many players who featured in the dismal relegation campaign under Paul Heckingbottom and Chris Wilder have departed, or continue to be linked with moves away between now and the transfer deadline of August 30th, with Traore's immediate future looking more set in stone than in previous weeks.

Initially, it was reported by transfer guru Alan Nixon via his Patreon account on May 12th, a week before the conclusion of last season's top flight campaign, that Wilder had made Traore immediately available for a transfer alongside Vinicius Souza, Anis Slimane and Anel Ahmedhodzic.

It was expected that FC Nantes, who Traore spent the second half of last season on loan with, would make a bid for a permanent transfer, which manager Antoine Kombouaré was said to be "open" to, before claiming that United have been "greedy" in their demands ahead of sanctioning a departure for the 21-year-old.

However, this latest update from The Star reveals that Traore is closing in on an imminent exit from the Blades, just a year after joining from Swedish outfit, BK Hacken.

Despite returning to the South Yorkshire outfit and featuring in pre-season under Wilder, the report claims that Swiss Super League outfit, FC Basel are a club monitoring his situation after Nantes decided to pull the plug on their own pursuit after an initial loan-to-buy deal was agreed six months ago.

And Basel are poised for a big windfall in the coming weeks, as they are set to profit on a 50 per cent clause that they inserted in Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori's move to Bologna just one year ago - with a fee of around £42 million said to be agreed, the Swiss side will land over £19 million.

Benie Traore's tough period at Bramall Lane is set to end

Despite their financial limitations being well-documented after being promoted last season, Traore was one of 10 new additions bought to the club in Heckingbottom's final window as Blades boss, joining from Hacken for a reported £4m after scoring 12 goals in 14 games for the Allsvenskan outfit.

The Ivorian made his debut against Crystal Palace on the first day of the season, before going on to make seven more appearances in the first half of the campaign, of which only two more came in the starting XI.

Traore played just 15 minutes for Wilder after his re-appointment was confirmed in December, before being left on the bench against Brentford, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester City, as well as being left out of the entire matchday squad for the 3-2 Boxing Day defeat against Luton Town.

Subsequently, the young forward was loaned out to Nantes in January, registering his solitary goal contribution - an assist for Florent Mollet in a 2-1 home defeat to Clermont Foot - before being sent off in the same encounter.

As previously mentioned, Nantes decided to pull the plug on any potential recapture of Traore's signature, despite him impressing those connected with the club in the 15 games he featured in for 'Les Canaris'.

Benie Traore exit is the right move for Sheffield United

It remains to be seen how much of the £4m paid to Hacken last summer will be recuperated by United, or whether they can somehow turn a profit on their initial investment.

Regardless, this is the correct decision for all parties as Traore has found it tough to make an impression on Wilder, despite featuring for 45 minutes of a pre-season encounter with York City.

However, the striking department is currently low on numbers at Bramall Lane despite the impressive addition of Kieffer Moore from AFC Bournemouth, whilst the Blades have joined several other second tier sides in the race for former Stoke City forward, Tyrese Campbell.

Whilst the estimated £10,000 salary Traore was reportedly earning in the Steel City wasn't particularly high on the club's payroll, those funds can definitely be re-invested shrewdly by Wilder in the coming weeks as United prepare to mount yet another promotion bid.